Cow-themed balloons greeted visitors at Haasen Farm last week, where people gathered to help celebrate the farm’s 60th anniversary.

Frank, Ivy and Adam Haasen were all on hand to greet guests for the special celebration. Frank then led a tour through the dairy farm facilities, where people could see more than 200 dairy cows and the machines that help milk and feed them.

The farm, originally constructed by Frank’s father in 1958, suffered through a fire in 2011. But, from the ashes, a new, technically-advanced farm emerged. With the new farm being completed in November of 2012, the farm now has over 200 dairy cows, producing more than 1 million litres of milk a year.

The new and improved farm uses Lely milking robotics to milk the cows. The machines bring the cows into an enclosed pen, enticing them with grain feed that is poured out for the cows to eat, while they’re getting milked. Each robot handles about 60 cows, and most cows are milked about 5 times a day. The average cow eats about 10 kilograms of grain feed a day.

The new robotic system means less work for the Haasen family. The cows know that the enclosed pens where the milking robots operate, have grain feed available. So cows can come and go as they please, munching on grain if they decide to stick around and get milked.

The Lely milking robots also use a unique bar code assigned to every cow, to monitor how much the cow has eaten, if there are any health concerns, and whether the cow is in heat. Lasers are also used to locate the cows’ teats, which are cleaned before each milking. The milk goes through the machine to a cooling storage area. The cooling tank in the milk house can hold up to 11,000 litres of milk. Each cow produces 7-9 litres of milk a day, and the cows are milked at least twice a day.

The cows also receive medical treatment to ensure their health and fertility. A veterinarian comes to Haasen Farm every three weeks to check on reproduction and make sure the cows are healthy.

Judging by the puppy-like nudges guests were getting from the cows behind their pens, the cows are healthy, happy, and eager to make new friends. There’s no doubt they are getting the best care and comfort from the folks at Hassen Farms; let’s hope cows will continue to be milked and taken care of at the farm for another 60 years.