We were invited to our friends farm to see the...
and to feed another farmer's lambs...
and then we were invited to view a brand new dairy operation similar to this photo
To use the term "farm" would envision a few holsteins in the field...but what we saw was automated feeding, cleaning manure, and automated recessed milking parlours!
More modern farms use recessed parlors, where the milker stands in a recess such that his arms are at the level of the cow's udder. The cows stand in two angled rows either side of the recess and the milker accesses the udder from the side, parallel, where the cows stand side-by-side and the milker accesses the udder from the rear or, more recently, rotary (or carousel), where the cows are on a raised circular platform, facing the center of the circle, and the platform rotates while the milker stands in one place and accesses the udder from the rear. There are many other styles of milking parlors which are less common.
It is astounding to see the modern technology in the dairy farms of today! The boys enjoyed observing calves, and the beginning of the birth of a calf. We will cherish these memories and our friendship with the Moermans.....now that we are in the wild, wild west!
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