In this episode of the American Dairyman Podcast, host Dustin Hector sits down with Jason French, Commercial Portfolio Manager for DeLaval North America, along with Christy Craun-Hartman of Hillview Dairy in Virginia, to explore how automation, robotics, and data are changing the way dairy producers manage their herds.

Jason brings a lifetime of dairy experience to the conversation. Raised on a dairy farm in Ontario, Canada, he now works with DeLaval’s robotic and automated milking systems across North America. Christy offers the producer perspective as a fourth-generation dairy farmer managing a 200-cow Holstein and Jersey herd with three VMS V300 milking robots. The conversation dives into how modern dairy technology has evolved beyond simply automating the milking process. Today’s systems can collect valuable information that helps producers monitor reproduction, milk quality, cow health, milking performance, and other important areas of herd management. By turning that information into actionable reports, producers can identify animals requiring attention and make faster, more informed decisions.

Christy explains how labor challenges and an aging parlor helped drive her family’s transition to robotic milking. Instead of relying on handwritten records or physically observing every cow multiple times each day, she can now use reports to identify cows showing potential health or production concerns. That allows the farm to be more proactive while saving valuable time and labor.

Jason and Christy also discuss DeLaval’s Milk Cell Analysis biosensor, which monitors somatic cell counts and gives producers additional information about milk quality and udder health. Christy uses the information when making decisions involving breeding, dry-off timing, and identifying chronic problem cows. Importantly, she emphasizes that technology alone does not create healthy cows—the producer must use the information to make better management decisions. Finally, the conversation looks toward the future of dairy farming, where artificial intelligence could help producers manage an ever-growing amount of information. From robotics and biosensors to AI-powered reporting, this episode shows how combining technology with good management can help dairy producers improve efficiency, animal care, and decision-making for the next generation.

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