WALLAND, Tenn. — The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture unveiled its new robot that can milk cows.
According to a release from UT, the new system, developed by the Lely Corporation in the Netherlands, would allow cows to be automatically milked at their own will and in a stress-free environment.
UTIA held a live demonstration at UT AgReearch's Little River Unit on Tuesday.
"With automated milking machines, we are really able to make farm production and milk production much easier," said UTIA Vice President Keith Carver. "Farmers are able to use the technology to be much more efficient and spending more of their time and resources with the herd."
UT said the cows are trained to walk up to the robot where a sensor on their collar will recognize each animal. The system will know how much feed to give the cow while she's being milked based on previous data. The cow is free to eat, drink and rest while being milked in a less crowded space.
According to UT, roughly 120 dairy cows can be milked and individual records can be kept on two robots in a short amount of time.