An evolving robotic journey

WINONA, Minn. — Since switching to robotic milking units three year ago, the Tews family has seen their milk production rise by over 15 pounds per cow per day and their butterfat stay above 4% for two years running for the first time ever.

“Never say never (about robots),” Isaiah Tews said. “For a long time, I’m like, ‘Oh, it’s just too much money. It’s too much money.’”

Isaiah dairy farms alongside his wife, Breanne, their 10 children, and his brother, Joseph. Together, they milk 250 cows on their farm near Winona and farm 250 acres for the dairy as well as additional acres for other farming ventures.

Isaiah, who returned to the dairy farm in 2008 after an 8-year stint as an electrician, said they had been considering robots since 2010.

Isaiah said trying to do things better in the operation is one of his favorite things about farming.

“You always are (thinking) ‘What if we change this?’ or ‘What if we do that?’” he said.

Their first four DeLaval robotic milking units started up in April 2022. Six months later, they began considering adding another robot to one of their empty slots. After connecting with a Galaxy sales consultant, they continued their robot journey and added a Galaxy Merlin^2G robot, which started March 3.

“We wanted a quicker wash, less maintenance and fewer moving parts,” Isaiah said.

With the new robot, they also added a buffer tank to make wash time easier. They said they have liked the cleaning brush on the Galaxy and the low maintenance. Six months into having it, the Tews brothers have had to replace one fuse.

“(It is) simple and seems to always work,” Joseph said.

The two robotic systems coexist side-by-side. Isaiah said the only problem with adding a second system is that sorting for herd health is no longer as easy as it was before.

Overall, adding another robot has gone smoothly. Isaiah and Joseph said they received lots of training, which helped the transition.

“(Galaxy) wants you to be able to do everything, (and) basically be the service tech if you want to do that,” Joseph said.

The Tews brothers have a capital “L” set up for their robotic milking units. Their setup has always been a free-flow system.

“I just didn’t like (guided flow),” Isaiah said. “I didn’t like (if) you have a fresh cow (that) doesn’t feel great you have to make her do some work to get to the feed.”

The Tews family feeds pellets in all their robots. For cows that milk over 80 pounds, they also receive a 50/50 mix of roasted beans and Propel Energy Nuggets.

Between increasing production per cow and raising components, the brothers appreciate their robotic system.

“You’re more consistently the same (on production) even when it’s hot out,” Joseph said.

Joseph and Isaiah chose DeLaval robots when they began in part because they were more cost effective than other robots they had considered. Isaiah said he encourages other farmers to consider putting in robots.

“(You should) do the robots a year ago,” he said. “(We are) very happy with robots.”

Labor was one of several factors that prompted the Tews brothers to choose robots.

“(I was) not wanting to manage people,” Isaiah said. “I just never felt like a great people manager.”

Isaiah and Joseph farm alone without hired help, with the assistance of Breanne about 30 hours a week.

“(We were) wanting more milk, hopefully doing less labor ourselves, or having freedom to do the labor when you want to do it,” Isaiah said.

Joseph said flexibility is one of the things he appreciates about dairy farming.

“You do whatever you want, whenever you want, and never do the same thing,” he said.

Isaiah and Joseph are sixth-generation dairy farmers. Before switching to robotic milking units, they milked in a 50-year-old, semi-updated parlor.

The original parlor built in 1971 was a double-4 herringbone. It was updated to a double-8 herringbone in 2000.

Their other facilities have developed as well. Their freestall curtain barn has grown by adding robots. Now, it is 240 feet in length with 200 stalls. Dry cows are housed in a separate barn.

With the update to robots, they have closed the ridge vents and added ridge fans to their sand-bedded freestall barn, which they said they have liked.

“That was terrific,” Isaiah said. “Basically, the barn hasn’t frozen since we did that.”

Looking to the future, the brothers would like to start feeding their cows roasted high oleic soybeans, and they want to add more manure storage. They also want to increase cow numbers from within.

Finally, they are considering eventually getting another Galaxy as their sixth robot.

“We have another spot for another one … without removing anything,” Isaiah said. “That would be the first probable step.”