Technology

Bad Effects of Technology:

Along with many advantages, technology also has some bad effects. One of the disadvantages of this technology is the affect on the smaller dairies. If they do not have enough money to expand, they will eventually be left in the dust in the dairy industry and be forced to quit farming. Statistics show that there are now fewer herds, but they are larger. There are even fewer cows, but with such efficient equipment there is just as much, if not more, milk. "According to USDA data, the number of dairy farm operations in the U.S. declined from 159,450 in 1993 to 97,560 in 2001." (B5) Many farms end up going bankrupt or just start to dislike milking because of their low technology systems. As mentioned by Ken Bailey, of Penn University (B5) , it is a proven study that large dairy farms are more profitable than small, family farms.
Technology has also added a qualification to milk that is accepted. You have to have the cleaner and higher quality of milk in order to even have your milk be sold. If not, your milk will be dumped and you will lose the profits for that day. Another thing that often happens is if your milk is bad and it is loaded into the truck with other dairies' milk, you will have to pay for all of the milk in that truckload.

Another major disadvantages of technology is the expense. This is the cause for most of these small farms quitting. Small, family dairies feel scared to spend that kind of money on something they might now know about. Some people don't even know what kind of technology is available. Not investing in such technology is what causes many problems to these farms. An exception to this would be having expensive equipment, but you still have low production. In this type of situation, the farm will struggle very much. "There are economic risks that result from any dairy expansion!" (B5)

As with any other piece of technology, there is always a chance that your computer can crash. If the power goes out, or some other unusual event, all of your records are lost unless you have backed them up.

Many farmers complain that good help is hard to find on a dairy farm. "Managing labor appeared to be the biggest challenge facing producers following expansion." (B7) Dairy technology produces careers as well as takes them away. Some of these careers that are taken away include:

* Need less people to manage farm
* Milkers (milking robot)
* Dairy managers (software programs)
* Nutrionists (EZ Feed)

There are many factors that affect the success of a farm. These factors include:

* Ability to manage by farmer
* Environment
* Economic conditions
* Farmer experience
* The less money put in, the less satisfied with output
* Higher pay to employees like managers
* Difficulty with expansion
* "Burn out" cows quickly