ROBOTIC FARM FEATURE – JTP FARMS

JTP Farms of Dorchester, Wisconsin is operated by Jake Peissig. Jake has been an innovator in robotic milking from the time the first robots were installed in 2012. The original barn had 4 pens with 60 stalls and a VMS classic in each. The toll booth design was copied so frequently that it was known locally as a “Peissig Barn.” Today, 460 cows are milked by 9 DeLaval robots – a mix of classics and V300’s. Jake has continued to innovate by adding a Lely Vector automatic TMR feeding system. He uses technology to create uniformity for his cows and simplicity for his workers.

Jake expanded from the original 4 to the current 9 robots without changing the external footprint of the barn. He did convert one pen from non-milking to milking animals. He was among the first to recognize the opportunity to overstock stalls in robot barns. Jake realized

that there were unused stalls and unused bunk space with 1 cow per stall. As long as the barn flowed, his cows were always distributed between the bunk, the freestalls, and the milking area. He filled the unused space in some pens, by adding another robot, and stocking the pens at 1.4 to 1.5 cows per stall. Production per cow has stayed the same, or even increased with the added milking capacity.

Adding robots and overstocking pens is the least expensive way to add productive capacity to a robot barn. It makes it possible to add cows without adding square feet to the structure. The capital costs include robots, construction for robot rooms, and modifications to the milk transport system. There are a few caveats. The barn has to flow all the time. To maintain continuous flow, feed has to be available in the bunk all the time, and human interaction in the pen must be minimized. Traffic areas need to have space for more cows to move around the barn. More intensive use of stalls will require extra bedding, and more manure will require extra scraping. Make sure the barn flows well with 1 cow per stall before increasing stocking density to 1.4 cows per stall.

Jake builds his labor force around the automation on his farm. Most of the workers are part-time students. Automation allows Jake to give his employees flexible schedules and specialized roles. For example, fetching cows needs to be done regularly, but the timing is flexible. This flexibility means students can have a job, and participate in after school activities. Jake’s part-time employees don’t have to know how to do every job on the farm. He can train them to specialize in one area, such as calf care or cleaning, and let them do their jobs.

Ultimately, for JTP Farms, automation is expected simplify the operation rather than complicate it. Jake’s metrics for success are also very simple. First, he wants the dairy to generate enough free cash to allow him to reinvest in the business when opportunities arise. He maximizes free cash and net profit by maximizing components and pounds of milk shipped. Over time, he has added robots, and added cows without adding stalls, so milk per stall has been the key metric. He challenges everything to find the next opportunity to produce more with what he has.