More than 50 consumers got to see a feedlot and one of South Dakota’s only robotic dairies on last night’s Farms after Five Tour. The first stop was BLAC-X Farms near Garretson, South Dakota owned by Pete and Jay Bakken. Jay runs the 2,980 head feedlot and says they showed tour participants how they feed those steers to eventually end up as the steaks and hamburgers they buy for their families.
Jay says they also showed participants their handling facilities and talked about how they participate in the Beef Quality Assurance Program to ensure consumers they raise a healthy and safe beef product.
The tour also showcased Cottonwood Ridge Dairy near Garretson, owned by the Nussbaum family. It’s one of the only robotic milking operations in the state. Monica Nussbaum says they chose to go robotic because it saves on labor and allows the family to be involved in the operation.
She says the robotic milking machines also address the needs of the cow.
The two robots milk their 130 cows and can easily track production information, udder health and the cow’s ration.
