ROBOTIC MILKING

The Lely Astronaut Robotic Milking System has changed the course of history on our farm forever.

The Matthews family at Milky Way Farm is committed to dairy farming into the next century. The decision to lease a robotic milking system was a true venture into dairy technology. Our cows come in from the pasture and walk through the gates into the commitment pen to the robot for milking and eating grain. We think the cows find the consistency of the robotic milker a comfort — they can be milked day or night, up to six times if they choose. Yes, the cows can make the choice when to be milked! As a result, production has increased at least 10 to 15% per cow, and the milk is as delicious as ever.

Most of the milk produced on Milky Way Farm is purchased by Land O' Lakes Cooperative and taken to a regional processing plant to be made ready to drink or made into various dairy products. The remainder of the milk is pasteurized on site for sale to customers or purchased by Chester Springs Creamery for their "moolicious" ice cream!

For more information about our dairy products, check out Anne Mendelson's book "Milk" for the latest information about milk nutrition and dairy product recipes from around the world. Cornell University has an excellent website on current research regarding the nutritional value of dairy products and various dairy milk processes.