Virhada Holsteins-
- 4 Lely A5 Astronauts
- 1 Lely Juno
- 2 Lely Luna Cow Brushes
- 188 cows being milked
Virgil Haag took over day-to-day operations of the family dairy which would
become Virhada Holsteins in 1986. Today he continues to run the dairy with his
wife Dawn and the help of sons Cody who handles feeding and Carson who tends to
calves and cow health.
The Haag family began looking into robots to reduce labor demand and increase
cow comfort in their facility. In August 2023, with the help of Lely Center Monroe,
Virhada Holsteins started up four Lely Astronaut A5 robotic milking systems, a
Lely Juno automatic feed pusher and two Lely Luna cow brushes, in an L-shape
layout barn. 188 of their 230 head herd are currently milked using Lely robotics
with the intent of growing the herd so each robot is milking at least 60 cows. Since
start-up the Haags report an eight-pound increase in milk production, strong solids
performance and an average of 3.3 milkings per day.