June 3, 2016
CapitalPress.com
17
Farmers get a hand from robotic parlor
By MARGARETT WATERBURY
For the Capital Press
Courtesy of Dairylain Farms
Jason and Mary Chamberlain are the second generation of dairy farmers at Dairylain Farms near Vale, Ore.
Jason said. “They don’t run
away from you; they run to-
ward you.”
“Kids love them,” his
wife, Mary, adds. “I have a
three-year-old who showed
one at the fair, and it just fol-
lowed them around.”
Jerseys are generally
smaller than Holsteins, and
though they produce more
milk per pound of body
weight than Holsteins, their
overall production tends to
be a bit lower.
Jersey milk is high in
butterfat, however, leading
the Chamberlains to target
the cheese rather than fluid
market for their output. All
of their milk is sold to the
Sorrento Lactalis mozzarel-
la plant in Nampa, Idaho,
which is run by a French
company that produces
cheese for the U.S. and Eu-
ropean markets.
In addition to pasture,
the Chamberlains farm 500
acres for fodder. There, they
raise about 80 percent of
their feed to hedge against
fluctuations in commodity
then we looked at robots
again, and that’s where we
went. We’ll be able to milk
more cows and have fewer
employees than we have
now.”
Installation of the new
robotic parlor took about a
year, and the Chaimberlains
hope to be using the new
system in June.
“I think mechanization
and robotics are going to
continue to increase,” Mary
said, “And Oregon has
been really supportive of
that move. It combines the
industrial and agricultural
sides of Oregon, and it’s a
good alternative for family
farms who don’t want to sell
out.”
“I think the future looks
pretty good for dairies, real-
ly,” Warren said. “You can’t
beat ag for raising kids and
families. It teaches them a
lot.”
...with PARMA ® Combination Boxes.
Hydraulic
Driven Spinner
attachment spreads
compost, manure,
bedding and dry
material with an
even, consistent
spread pattern.
with
Now Available ter
a
a Vertical Be
Attachment!!!
Convert
box from
spreading
manure to
hauling
forage in a
matter of
minutes.
405 Birch Bay-Lynden Rd.,
Lynden, WA 98264
info@whatcommfg.com
Quality built components throughout assure long life and superb
performance season after season and load after load.
www.parmacompany.com
® parmacom@parmacompany.com
208.722.5116
D16-4/#17
360.354.3094
D16-4/#24
Vale is about as far from
the misty pastures of the
Oregon Coast as a town can
get. Just 12 miles from the
Idaho border, Vale, Ore., is
in the midst of the high des-
ert: big blue skies, an open
landscape and a dry climate.
Yet here Dairylain Farms
milks a herd of about 450
registered Jerseys, all born
and raised on the farm, with
an additional 500 head of
young stock waiting in the
wings.
This family-owned farm
was founded in 1971 by
Warren and Lori Chamber-
lain. Today, Warren and Lori
still play a major role in the
dairy operation, but they’re
joined by their son Jason
Chamberlain and his wife,
Mary Chamberlain.
Well-known for their doc-
ile, sociable, curious nature
and tolerance of hot weather,
Jerseys are a natural fit for
a family farm in one of the
hottest parts of the state.
“They’re so curious,”
prices and give them better
control over their herd nu-
trition.
This year, Dairylain
Farms is transitioning from
its 1960s double six her-
ringbone parlor to a fully
robotic milking system.
The Chamberlains had
struggled to find qualified
personnel in their sparse-
ly populated area, and
concerns about climbing
minimum wage rates and
new employee benefit pro-
grams led them to look into
automation.
“Last summer we went
to Iowa and took a tour to
watch some robots. We de-
cided not to at first, but after
hearing what the legislators
were talking about with
minimum wage, 401ks and
sick leave, we went back
and started looking at what
it would cost us to have em-
ployees,” Warren said. “So