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April 10, 2025

Can robotic milking help tackle dairy industry’s labor shortage?

A partial view of a cow and machine. hoto / Courtesy University of Maine A robotic arm detaches a pump from a cow's udder.
By Laurie Schreiber

Many dairy producers in Maine have trouble finding the workforce they need to maintain sustainable operations.

Could robots step in?

The University of Maine recently unveiled a robotic milking barn — the third of its kind in Maine — at Witter Farm, a teaching farm that’s part of the J. Franklin Witter Teaching and Research Center in Old Town and home to UMaine’s undergraduate and graduate education and research programs in dairy and equine science. 

The technology is designed for voluntary milking, according to a news release.

A robot consists of metal parts.
Photo / Courtesy University of Maine
Within the free-stall barn, each cow can walk up to the DeLaval VMS Series V300 Milking Robot system when they’re ready for milking.

Within the "free-stall" barn, each cow can walk up to the system when they’re ready for milking, at which point robotic arms will connect pumps to their udder. Allowing cows to set their own milking schedule has been shown to increase production, the release said.

The technology is considered a resource for bolstering the agricultural workforce and pursuing research activities.

The dairy industry has lost one-third of its farms since 2020 due to rising costs and other challenges.

Maine’s dairy sector shrank from 602 farms in 1994 to 140 today, according to a November 2024 report of the Maine Dairy Task Force.

Painting a discouraging picture: high milk production costs, low milk prices and labor shortages. Bright spots include automation and robotics, according to the report. 

The robotic milking barn was funded by federal and state investments in the university’s Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station and through funding for the University of Maine System.  

Exterior of big blue-sided buildng.
Photo / Courtesy University of Maine
The University of Maine recently unveiled a robotic milking barn at its teaching farm.

"Dairy farmers in Maine are pleased to see the investment the university has made into their dairy program,” said Annie Watson, president of the Maine Dairy Industry Association.

The robotic milking is expected to create a more efficient system for farm staff and students. The system also record milking frequency and volume, milk quality and the number of visits to the robots by each cow, which offers dairy producers better insight into herd management, nutrition and health. 

The information collected by the robotic system will be used to enhance data science education for UMaine students.

Another technological advancement previously implemented at Witter Farm was an automated health monitoring system for the herd.

Witter Farm employs 15 to 20 student workers and hosts dairy classes from UMaine’s animal and veterinary sciences program. 

The technological advances can be used to modernize research and experiments conducted at the farm, with a goal to enhance, optimize and adapt operations to the changing economy and environment. 

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