WEBVTT 00:00:10.220 --> 00:00:14.039 Creeping across the pasture land. Got dirt on 00:00:14.039 --> 00:00:18.719 the boots and a working hand. From the milk house 00:00:18.719 --> 00:00:24.000 home to the auction call. These are the folks 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:59.899 standing strong and tall. Yeah, this is... Welcome 00:00:59.899 --> 00:01:02.840 back to The Bullvine. I'm Em, your host, and 00:01:02.840 --> 00:01:04.920 this one's a conversation I've been looking forward 00:01:04.920 --> 00:01:08.159 to sharing. Today, we're heading to southeastern 00:01:08.159 --> 00:01:11.180 Manitoba, near Kleefeld, to sit down with Marcus 00:01:11.180 --> 00:01:15.219 and Paige Duke of Four Oak Farms. In July 2020, 00:01:15.500 --> 00:01:18.019 they did something nobody in Western Canada had 00:01:18.019 --> 00:01:21.359 done before. They rolled a Robomax mobile milking 00:01:21.359 --> 00:01:24.359 robot into their old Thai stall barn. No free 00:01:24.359 --> 00:01:27.799 stall rebuild, no massive expansion. Just a Quebec 00:01:27.799 --> 00:01:31.000 -built rail -mounted robot, a herd of calm brown 00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:33.659 Swiss, and a whole lot of figuring it out on 00:01:33.659 --> 00:01:37.079 their own. The instructions were in French. COVID 00:01:37.079 --> 00:01:39.900 canceled their training trip. The local dealer 00:01:39.900 --> 00:01:42.439 relationship fell through, and they had a newborn 00:01:42.439 --> 00:01:45.879 at home. Five years later, milk production is 00:01:45.879 --> 00:01:49.200 up over 40%. They've built side businesses in 00:01:49.200 --> 00:01:52.900 hay and crop consulting. And in 2024, they were 00:01:52.900 --> 00:01:55.920 named Manitoba's Outstanding Young Farmers. This 00:01:55.920 --> 00:01:58.780 isn't a story about chasing scale. It's about 00:01:58.780 --> 00:02:01.859 working smarter, staying sane, and building a 00:02:01.859 --> 00:02:04.140 farm life that actually leaves room for your 00:02:04.140 --> 00:02:07.140 kids. So grab your coffee and let's get into 00:02:07.140 --> 00:02:11.599 it. You guys run Four Oaks Farm. Can you tell 00:02:11.599 --> 00:02:15.460 me what a typical day at Four Oaks Farm is like 00:02:15.460 --> 00:02:20.080 and what your operation is like? Sure. So we 00:02:20.080 --> 00:02:23.419 are Four Oak Farms in southeastern Manitoba near 00:02:23.419 --> 00:02:26.500 Cleefeld. We have a dairy, we grow hay, we grow 00:02:26.500 --> 00:02:28.879 corn, and we grow soybeans. We also do, Marcus 00:02:28.879 --> 00:02:32.159 has his PEG, so he does manure management planning 00:02:32.159 --> 00:02:35.639 and field consulting. So a typical day for us 00:02:35.639 --> 00:02:38.520 is never the same, but there is kind of those 00:02:38.520 --> 00:02:40.780 dairy cows that give you a backbone to your timing. 00:02:41.379 --> 00:02:44.419 So first thing, unless there's a first first 00:02:44.419 --> 00:02:46.840 thing from the field, is 6 a .m. we're in the 00:02:46.840 --> 00:02:50.009 barn. And usually two of us, either me and Marcus, 00:02:50.090 --> 00:02:52.449 or we do have one part -time worker. And his 00:02:52.449 --> 00:02:54.889 mom is still doing calf tours in the morning. 00:02:54.949 --> 00:02:57.629 So 6 a .m., you're in the barn for an hour. Then 00:02:57.629 --> 00:03:00.710 you either go off and do field stuff, or if it's 00:03:00.710 --> 00:03:02.289 winter, you get to come home for an hour and 00:03:02.289 --> 00:03:05.090 have breakfast, get the kids to school. And then 00:03:05.090 --> 00:03:07.689 back in the barn, 9 till 12, which is either 00:03:07.689 --> 00:03:10.909 one of us, or again, we have a barn staff helper. 00:03:11.939 --> 00:03:14.340 And then if we're not in the field, we're back 00:03:14.340 --> 00:03:16.780 in the barn again at 2, 2 till 4, doing, you 00:03:16.780 --> 00:03:18.939 know, feeding and cleaning and all that. Because 00:03:18.939 --> 00:03:20.520 we don't actually milk cows anymore. We have 00:03:20.520 --> 00:03:23.680 a robot, but it still needs managed. And then 00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:25.659 it's either back in the field or you have some 00:03:25.659 --> 00:03:28.300 time to make supper and be home and hang out 00:03:28.300 --> 00:03:30.219 until you're back in the barn from 8 till 9 to 00:03:30.219 --> 00:03:33.319 do night check. And that is the backbone of a 00:03:33.319 --> 00:03:36.860 typical day. Okay. Especially with young children, 00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:39.780 I'm sure there's a lot of... craziness going 00:03:39.780 --> 00:03:44.419 on. Now, how has that changed since you installed 00:03:44.419 --> 00:03:47.740 the RoboMax? I think that was in July 2020. Has 00:03:47.740 --> 00:03:50.060 that changed things a fair bit for you, or how 00:03:50.060 --> 00:03:54.360 has life changed since before that? I think there 00:03:54.360 --> 00:03:56.439 was a lot of changes all at once. So there were 00:03:56.439 --> 00:03:59.360 a few things that changed altogether. One was 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:03.419 his parents were aging out of wanting to milk 00:04:03.419 --> 00:04:05.780 cows. So step one, we were losing two workers 00:04:05.780 --> 00:04:08.439 that were willing to milk cows. Step two, we 00:04:08.439 --> 00:04:11.240 had our first baby. So I was still good, but 00:04:11.240 --> 00:04:15.879 not as good as I once was. And then step three 00:04:15.879 --> 00:04:17.879 was we needed to find a way for the cows to pay 00:04:17.879 --> 00:04:22.379 their way better. So putting in the robot happened 00:04:22.379 --> 00:04:25.060 because of all of those three things, putting 00:04:25.060 --> 00:04:29.139 pressure on having to make a decision and expanding 00:04:29.139 --> 00:04:32.240 or demolishing and rebuilding was not a financially 00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:34.220 feasible option. So, yeah, the robot went in 00:04:34.220 --> 00:04:38.240 and it. At first, it did not feel like it gave 00:04:38.240 --> 00:04:41.480 us any more freedom, but over the year, when 00:04:41.480 --> 00:04:44.019 you kind of get to know its language and its 00:04:44.019 --> 00:04:46.680 needs and how to schedule our life, it's definitely 00:04:46.680 --> 00:04:49.360 been freeing. There's still those times where 00:04:49.360 --> 00:04:51.560 you need to be there, but they are flexible times 00:04:51.560 --> 00:04:56.220 compared to what they used to be. Now you talk 00:04:56.220 --> 00:05:00.600 about the getting to know it and understanding 00:05:00.600 --> 00:05:03.970 it. What was the... getting used to it or when 00:05:03.970 --> 00:05:06.110 you first started using the robot, what was the 00:05:06.110 --> 00:05:07.970 learning curve like or what was your feelings 00:05:07.970 --> 00:05:15.550 as you're going through all that? It was overwhelming. 00:05:19.110 --> 00:05:22.269 There's a few factors. Number one, it was the 00:05:22.269 --> 00:05:25.629 cows. Teaching them to love it. There's some 00:05:25.629 --> 00:05:27.230 older girls that have been milked the other way. 00:05:27.509 --> 00:05:30.769 Of course, it's just a massively different situation 00:05:30.769 --> 00:05:33.829 and schedule we went to 3x right away so the 00:05:33.829 --> 00:05:36.050 cow part of it was one portion and that just 00:05:36.050 --> 00:05:38.009 takes time and it depends on the temperament 00:05:38.009 --> 00:05:41.389 of each animal the second fold was that the company 00:05:41.389 --> 00:05:43.490 we purchased it from and we're working with to 00:05:43.490 --> 00:05:45.730 install are from Quebec and there's a language 00:05:45.730 --> 00:05:49.389 barrier that occasionally often came difficult 00:05:49.389 --> 00:05:52.790 to kind of people that speak French as their 00:05:52.790 --> 00:05:55.050 primary language and we do not trying to learn 00:05:55.050 --> 00:05:56.850 from them what we're trying to learn in robot 00:05:56.850 --> 00:06:00.019 language Was a little bit tough. They're very 00:06:00.019 --> 00:06:01.899 good company, though. And on third fold is that 00:06:01.899 --> 00:06:04.939 we were to have a local dealer helping us install, 00:06:05.220 --> 00:06:09.600 fix, learn, you know, just get to know it. That 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:11.899 relationship fell through early on. So then we 00:06:11.899 --> 00:06:14.240 were pretty much left on our own for quite a 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:16.120 bit. So that I think all of that together just 00:06:16.120 --> 00:06:18.180 made it feel like a lot. Plus the new baby we 00:06:18.180 --> 00:06:21.240 had. I think going back, we even had one more 00:06:21.240 --> 00:06:24.819 complication yet because we decided to buy the 00:06:24.819 --> 00:06:28.800 robot in February. like right when COVID started. 00:06:29.459 --> 00:06:32.779 And we were supposed to go to Quebec and tour 00:06:32.779 --> 00:06:35.500 barns and talk to producers there and figure 00:06:35.500 --> 00:06:38.139 out exactly how this was going to work for us. 00:06:38.220 --> 00:06:41.839 But we weren't about to go start flying around 00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:46.259 during COVID times. So we kind of went into all 00:06:46.259 --> 00:06:49.879 of it blind. I think we could have saved a few 00:06:49.879 --> 00:06:52.939 learning steps along the way by having seen some 00:06:52.939 --> 00:06:55.420 of the barns and getting some advice from other 00:06:55.420 --> 00:06:57.519 producers at the time. Yeah, that was something 00:06:57.519 --> 00:06:59.600 that we missed. Why didn't we just wait a year 00:06:59.600 --> 00:07:01.720 then? Because nobody knew how long COVID was 00:07:01.720 --> 00:07:04.819 going to be. Yep. And we're kind of like go -getters. 00:07:04.839 --> 00:07:07.860 What the hell? We'll figure it out. You guys 00:07:07.860 --> 00:07:10.620 do have a different style of robot than most 00:07:10.620 --> 00:07:13.019 people are used to. When most people think robots, 00:07:13.240 --> 00:07:15.220 they think of kind of the one where the cows 00:07:15.220 --> 00:07:17.120 come and eat at the robot, get milked, and leave. 00:07:17.500 --> 00:07:19.939 Can you describe how the robot system you guys 00:07:19.939 --> 00:07:24.339 are working with works? You want me to do it? 00:07:24.379 --> 00:07:29.019 Okay. it is uh the base of the robot is exactly 00:07:29.019 --> 00:07:31.980 the same type of system as where the cows go 00:07:31.980 --> 00:07:35.220 to it to get milk so the arm and the and the 00:07:35.220 --> 00:07:38.720 software and the measuring equipment for for 00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:41.360 the milk quality is is all the same as a freestyle 00:07:41.360 --> 00:07:45.040 robot but um what this company in quebec has 00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:47.300 done is they've taken that robot and then they've 00:07:47.300 --> 00:07:50.660 built another robot basically that drives up 00:07:50.660 --> 00:07:53.139 and down the barn aisle and it catches the cow 00:07:55.069 --> 00:07:58.509 And then it engages the milking robot. So basically 00:07:58.509 --> 00:08:01.129 we're running two robots. We're running a driving 00:08:01.129 --> 00:08:03.269 robot and a milking robot at the same time. But 00:08:03.269 --> 00:08:07.610 it looks like one thing. Yeah. And sometimes 00:08:07.610 --> 00:08:10.050 it's fun getting the two robots to talk to each 00:08:10.050 --> 00:08:14.930 other properly. But in my terms, we call it the 00:08:14.930 --> 00:08:17.230 cage, like the thing the cow goes into to get 00:08:17.230 --> 00:08:19.550 milked. It sits on the barn aisle. It has four 00:08:19.550 --> 00:08:22.889 rubber tires so it can drive from. north to south 00:08:22.889 --> 00:08:25.290 down the barn aisle and it's programmed in whatever 00:08:25.290 --> 00:08:27.209 rotation you want it to go. So we have it going 00:08:27.209 --> 00:08:30.009 three times a day and it goes like in a counterclockwise 00:08:30.009 --> 00:08:32.570 direction. So it'll start at its first assigned 00:08:32.570 --> 00:08:36.330 stall. It'll pull forward as in like to the back 00:08:36.330 --> 00:08:39.009 of the cow. A little bridge comes down to cover 00:08:39.009 --> 00:08:40.710 the gutter where she normally poops and pees 00:08:40.710 --> 00:08:44.350 in. And then two rollers run along her body that 00:08:44.350 --> 00:08:46.529 are almost like a squeeze, like you put a cow 00:08:46.529 --> 00:08:48.519 in a squeeze to hold her neck. So they'll run 00:08:48.519 --> 00:08:49.980 along her body until they get in front of the 00:08:49.980 --> 00:08:51.960 point of her shoulder, and then it'll close around 00:08:51.960 --> 00:08:54.419 her neck and then slowly pull her back into the 00:08:54.419 --> 00:08:56.860 robot. So they have very long neck chains where 00:08:56.860 --> 00:08:59.679 they're tied to their headrail. So then once 00:08:59.679 --> 00:09:01.860 she's in, it reads her leg band, and then it 00:09:01.860 --> 00:09:04.120 acts like a normal robot. But there is no treat. 00:09:04.220 --> 00:09:06.360 So training is something that we do to young 00:09:06.360 --> 00:09:10.039 heifers before they calve. We teach them how 00:09:10.039 --> 00:09:11.820 to back in and not to be afraid of it so when 00:09:11.820 --> 00:09:16.899 they come in, they're chill. So it is quite different. 00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:19.379 What were your cows' first reactions when you 00:09:19.379 --> 00:09:22.500 first were going through this? Did they react 00:09:22.500 --> 00:09:24.360 fairly well or was it quite a learning curve 00:09:24.360 --> 00:09:26.919 for a lot of them? It's like any new piece of 00:09:26.919 --> 00:09:28.580 equipment or experience, right? Every animal 00:09:28.580 --> 00:09:31.559 is afraid of something big, robotic, and new. 00:09:31.740 --> 00:09:35.179 But, you know, quiet repetition and slow steps 00:09:35.179 --> 00:09:39.000 in their training, it's fine. In the beginning, 00:09:39.100 --> 00:09:40.580 though, of course, we pushed and rushed it to 00:09:40.580 --> 00:09:42.259 try and get it switched over because we didn't 00:09:42.259 --> 00:09:44.600 want it to take a year. to half milk them the 00:09:44.600 --> 00:09:46.320 old way and half with the robot and the pipeline 00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:49.539 had to come out. And so, yeah, going back in 00:09:49.539 --> 00:09:51.220 time, we would have changed how we trained them, 00:09:51.299 --> 00:09:59.039 but now they're fine. You train it to do the 00:09:59.039 --> 00:10:01.700 thing. Yeah. So I figured out exactly how the 00:10:01.700 --> 00:10:04.519 training worked and ended up being, we just had 00:10:04.519 --> 00:10:06.080 to take a little bit more time and the training 00:10:06.080 --> 00:10:09.120 actually went faster by taking more time. Yeah. 00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:12.580 Now, it seems to have gone quite well for you. 00:10:12.600 --> 00:10:17.340 Production has gone up quite a bit. Was there 00:10:17.340 --> 00:10:20.240 certain learnings that really helped that, or 00:10:20.240 --> 00:10:22.220 has it been a gradual process as you go through 00:10:22.220 --> 00:10:24.580 the whole learning curve that the production 00:10:24.580 --> 00:10:27.399 really jumped, or is it a combination of factors? 00:10:29.120 --> 00:10:35.559 I think it's a big combination. Going from 2x 00:10:35.559 --> 00:10:38.470 milking to 3x milking. certainly opens up the 00:10:38.470 --> 00:10:41.330 opportunity for the cows to produce more milk 00:10:41.330 --> 00:10:46.210 it didn't happen overnight we actually ended 00:10:46.210 --> 00:10:50.730 up switching feed companies and then with the 00:10:50.730 --> 00:10:52.870 the feed company change then we started seeing 00:10:52.870 --> 00:10:56.269 a change in in production so i don't think we 00:10:56.269 --> 00:10:59.110 were feeding the cows quite enough to to support 00:10:59.110 --> 00:11:02.889 that that change the other thing we really noticed 00:11:02.889 --> 00:11:07.899 is the cows that we just switched from 2x to 00:11:07.899 --> 00:11:10.980 3x didn't really respond with a production change 00:11:10.980 --> 00:11:16.980 yet the ones that calved into the 3x system those 00:11:16.980 --> 00:11:20.679 responded really really well and and so between 00:11:20.679 --> 00:11:24.019 getting all the cows you know to calve into the 00:11:24.019 --> 00:11:28.279 robot into the new milking regime and the new 00:11:28.279 --> 00:11:34.379 feed ration and breeding changes and It feels 00:11:34.379 --> 00:11:36.639 like every year there's always another step we 00:11:36.639 --> 00:11:40.940 take and another progress. It's always a little 00:11:40.940 --> 00:11:43.120 bit. It never seems like we take one really big 00:11:43.120 --> 00:11:45.340 step. So another factor you didn't quite touch 00:11:45.340 --> 00:11:47.740 on was that before all you had was your hands 00:11:47.740 --> 00:11:50.019 and like a strip cup to look for utter health. 00:11:50.220 --> 00:11:53.740 And now you see three times a day live results 00:11:53.740 --> 00:11:55.779 from every cow's quarter of how her utter health 00:11:55.779 --> 00:11:57.899 is doing. So you can catch things super early. 00:11:58.820 --> 00:12:01.340 And then you tend not to lose quarters and you 00:12:01.340 --> 00:12:03.610 treat infections before they get. out of hand 00:12:03.610 --> 00:12:06.090 and so cows tend to keep their quarters and stay 00:12:06.090 --> 00:12:09.529 utter health you know throughout their lactation 00:12:09.529 --> 00:12:12.070 better than before also the consistency of the 00:12:12.070 --> 00:12:13.870 robot and its ability to quarter milk like it 00:12:13.870 --> 00:12:16.169 can milk when one quarter is finished it takes 00:12:16.169 --> 00:12:17.850 that one off but the other three are still going 00:12:17.850 --> 00:12:19.769 it'll keep milking them whereas before all four 00:12:19.769 --> 00:12:23.289 just go together so it's just it's just massively 00:12:23.289 --> 00:12:26.950 easier to manage a cow and it can be tailored 00:12:26.950 --> 00:12:30.940 for per cow and keep her healthy So have you 00:12:30.940 --> 00:12:34.419 found that, obviously, with increased capabilities, 00:12:34.580 --> 00:12:36.580 but also the data, you've been able to manage 00:12:36.580 --> 00:12:38.980 the cows kind of more meticulously as well then? 00:12:39.059 --> 00:12:42.080 Has that kind of contributed to it? You can be 00:12:42.080 --> 00:12:44.460 type A. As long as you put the time aside to 00:12:44.460 --> 00:12:46.840 look at the reports, you can look, see, and learn 00:12:46.840 --> 00:12:48.559 anything. But you have to actually be there and 00:12:48.559 --> 00:12:50.860 do it. It doesn't tell you on its own that this 00:12:50.860 --> 00:12:52.899 cow is, you know, it's missing a quarter and 00:12:52.899 --> 00:12:54.940 she's slowly turning into a three -quarter. You 00:12:54.940 --> 00:12:59.850 have to go looking. Okay. Yeah. So if you do, 00:12:59.950 --> 00:13:03.710 it's good. Now, you guys don't seem to be opposed 00:13:03.710 --> 00:13:06.789 to change because during all this whole process, 00:13:06.850 --> 00:13:11.190 you also went from Holsteins to Brown Swiss, 00:13:11.409 --> 00:13:15.230 which is usually the opposite to what maybe most 00:13:15.230 --> 00:13:18.450 people do. What brought about that change? So 00:13:18.450 --> 00:13:20.850 that actually, I can't take credit for any of 00:13:20.850 --> 00:13:24.730 that. So that happened before us. Oh. Yeah. We 00:13:24.730 --> 00:13:29.429 used to be a Holstein herd. And then we actually 00:13:29.429 --> 00:13:33.330 used to show cattle quite a bit. And one of the 00:13:33.330 --> 00:13:36.529 shows, and my mom saw a Brown Swiss and fell 00:13:36.529 --> 00:13:38.330 in love with it, and they bought one, and they 00:13:38.330 --> 00:13:41.990 dragged it home. And I think within seven years, 00:13:42.049 --> 00:13:43.649 my parents had converted the whole herd over 00:13:43.649 --> 00:13:45.929 because they just couldn't have enough of them. 00:13:46.309 --> 00:13:50.090 Okay. Yeah. And how would you describe to someone 00:13:50.090 --> 00:13:54.110 who isn't familiar that, what is it like milking 00:13:54.110 --> 00:13:56.799 Brown Swiss versus Holsteins per se? Do you notice 00:13:56.799 --> 00:13:58.559 the difference in temperament or what do you 00:13:58.559 --> 00:14:02.019 notice with them? I mean, most people think we 00:14:02.019 --> 00:14:04.039 have jerseys. So I think the biggest thing to 00:14:04.039 --> 00:14:07.799 clarify is that a jersey is like a smaller framed, 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:10.539 big milking animal. We have like a large jersey 00:14:10.539 --> 00:14:13.539 is what a Brown Swiss is like. So they're big. 00:14:13.720 --> 00:14:16.340 They're a semi dual purpose breed. So they put 00:14:16.340 --> 00:14:18.279 on back fat and meat a lot easier than a whole 00:14:18.279 --> 00:14:21.639 theme. Yeah, they're fairly large, but they're 00:14:21.639 --> 00:14:24.259 a colored breed, meaning they have a. a higher 00:14:24.259 --> 00:14:27.440 potential genetically to produce butterfat than 00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:32.200 your typical average Holstein. So that's a production 00:14:32.200 --> 00:14:34.360 trait. But temperament -wise, they're very docile. 00:14:34.480 --> 00:14:36.179 We do a lot of pushing and pulling. There's not 00:14:36.179 --> 00:14:38.740 a lot of running. They're quite sturdy. Like, 00:14:38.779 --> 00:14:41.379 you know, their frame is larger. They have thicker 00:14:41.379 --> 00:14:46.899 bone. So there's just different health pressures 00:14:46.899 --> 00:14:49.470 that maybe a Holstein experiences we don't. Their 00:14:49.470 --> 00:14:51.789 calving ability is amazing. We don't use a calf 00:14:51.789 --> 00:14:56.629 puller hardly never. Yeah. I think the biggest 00:14:56.629 --> 00:14:59.450 difference is, though, they're very docile. And 00:14:59.450 --> 00:15:02.190 stubborn. I mean, yeah. They prefer to lay down 00:15:02.190 --> 00:15:04.389 than run. You have to make it their idea or nothing's 00:15:04.389 --> 00:15:09.830 going to happen. Yeah. Now, you guys seem to 00:15:09.830 --> 00:15:11.929 put a lot of thought into different things and 00:15:11.929 --> 00:15:13.870 a lot of process here. One of the decisions that 00:15:13.870 --> 00:15:17.190 I saw or something is. that as quota prices increase 00:15:17.190 --> 00:15:19.750 most people try to buy as much quota as they 00:15:19.750 --> 00:15:23.269 can uh you guys kind of i think decided to stop 00:15:23.269 --> 00:15:25.570 buying quota when it got so expensive was there 00:15:25.570 --> 00:15:28.450 particular reasons for that or what was the thought 00:15:28.450 --> 00:15:33.929 process behind that we had uh we have a limited 00:15:33.929 --> 00:15:36.870 amount of space in the barn and so we've been 00:15:36.870 --> 00:15:39.289 we've been constantly changing things along the 00:15:39.289 --> 00:15:41.409 way to kind of get us more space like by adding 00:15:41.409 --> 00:15:43.710 dry cow barn and then we could have you know 00:15:43.710 --> 00:15:46.029 more of the stalls being milking stalls and as 00:15:46.029 --> 00:15:49.590 these changes as we've done these changes and 00:15:49.590 --> 00:15:53.409 improved our production ability in the barn then 00:15:53.409 --> 00:15:56.070 we've had quota increases come along the way 00:15:56.070 --> 00:16:01.090 and they've sort of matched what we've been doing 00:16:01.090 --> 00:16:05.210 and so i mean we're we could certainly buy some 00:16:05.210 --> 00:16:07.029 quota now we have enough space in the barn for 00:16:07.029 --> 00:16:10.879 like our production has gone up enough that we 00:16:10.879 --> 00:16:13.220 can milk more cows and it would be fine but it 00:16:13.220 --> 00:16:15.620 kind of also feels nice to have a little bit 00:16:15.620 --> 00:16:20.759 of a sleeve in a spot because we often get incentive 00:16:20.759 --> 00:16:23.720 days in in fall right when there's a shortage 00:16:23.720 --> 00:16:27.679 of production typically then producers are incentivized 00:16:27.679 --> 00:16:30.080 to produce a little bit extra to kind of fill 00:16:30.080 --> 00:16:33.700 the gap at that time and having some stalls available 00:16:33.700 --> 00:16:36.600 in the barn to be able to fill that it's kind 00:16:36.600 --> 00:16:38.700 of a great way to capture some revenue without 00:16:38.700 --> 00:16:44.690 having to put the money out for the quota. Now, 00:16:44.710 --> 00:16:48.009 and you guys say about capturing revenue, but 00:16:48.009 --> 00:16:50.809 I think you've also diversified your operations. 00:16:51.429 --> 00:16:55.990 So, you know, you operate on many hats and one 00:16:55.990 --> 00:16:58.529 of them is the Four Oak Egg Solutions. Can you 00:16:58.529 --> 00:17:00.289 describe to me kind of the work you've been doing 00:17:00.289 --> 00:17:05.029 there and how that got started? So the work is 00:17:05.029 --> 00:17:08.769 very centered around doing nutrient management 00:17:08.769 --> 00:17:13.309 planning for crop production, but it starts with 00:17:13.309 --> 00:17:18.089 manure management. So we both have our animal 00:17:18.089 --> 00:17:19.930 science degree from the University of Manitoba. 00:17:20.029 --> 00:17:22.410 And then after that, then I went on and I got 00:17:22.410 --> 00:17:25.650 my professional agrologist and manure management 00:17:25.650 --> 00:17:29.869 planner's license and started. It really started 00:17:29.869 --> 00:17:33.589 for a friend to kind of help him out doing his 00:17:33.589 --> 00:17:36.170 plant. And then from there, the business kind 00:17:36.170 --> 00:17:39.910 of grew to doing. the soil sampling and manure 00:17:39.910 --> 00:17:44.450 planning for producers. And so, yeah, we do a 00:17:44.450 --> 00:17:46.529 fair amount of that where we help producers figure 00:17:46.529 --> 00:17:51.589 out where to put their manure and how thick to 00:17:51.589 --> 00:17:53.970 apply and how to incorporate and how to get their 00:17:53.970 --> 00:17:58.509 best return on putting that fertilizer in. And 00:17:58.509 --> 00:18:01.349 then what additional commercial fertilizer they 00:18:01.349 --> 00:18:04.049 need to grow or to put in to achieve their yield 00:18:04.049 --> 00:18:08.190 targets that they want from the crops. And it 00:18:08.190 --> 00:18:10.930 seems like you guys do a lot of homework and 00:18:10.930 --> 00:18:13.809 research, or at least it seems like it, before 00:18:13.809 --> 00:18:16.609 you make decisions. Like you have kind of a different 00:18:16.609 --> 00:18:18.609 style robot, and then I think you even have a 00:18:18.609 --> 00:18:24.029 kind of a different style of hay baler that kind 00:18:24.029 --> 00:18:26.289 of processes them a little different. How did 00:18:26.289 --> 00:18:28.829 you even go about, like, what leads to finding 00:18:28.829 --> 00:18:30.490 these different things, and how did you even 00:18:30.490 --> 00:18:34.970 find that hay baler even existed? I think it's 00:18:34.970 --> 00:18:38.160 having the right friends. It is a lot with who 00:18:38.160 --> 00:18:39.940 you surround yourself with. But that, again, 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:43.279 was like three - or four -fold. Aging generations 00:18:43.279 --> 00:18:45.460 before us didn't want to be hand -bombing thousands 00:18:45.460 --> 00:18:48.740 of bales up into the attic anymore. We had a 00:18:48.740 --> 00:18:50.779 bale stacker that had parts that were breaking 00:18:50.779 --> 00:18:53.299 that were almost irreplaceable because it was 00:18:53.299 --> 00:18:55.460 older and couldn't find the pieces, or replacing 00:18:55.460 --> 00:18:58.740 it was astronomical. So we're like, how can we 00:18:58.740 --> 00:19:02.440 still find small packages to use in our tie stall 00:19:02.440 --> 00:19:04.259 but not have to move them by hand every day in 00:19:04.259 --> 00:19:07.099 a tractor bucket? So a conversation led to his 00:19:07.099 --> 00:19:12.259 buddy down the road from Holland. Yeah, it was 00:19:12.259 --> 00:19:15.640 just very matter -of -fact. He just puts on the 00:19:15.640 --> 00:19:17.200 table, why don't you buy one of these balers? 00:19:17.660 --> 00:19:21.759 And I'm like, no, no, no, no. That doesn't exist. 00:19:21.960 --> 00:19:23.980 Like, I would know if that existed. Well, no, 00:19:24.079 --> 00:19:26.519 and then we, you know, thanks to Google, it doesn't 00:19:26.519 --> 00:19:31.220 take very long to find it. And, well, from there 00:19:31.220 --> 00:19:33.039 one thing led to another, and I think within 00:19:33.039 --> 00:19:35.200 two months we had bought one in Germany already. 00:19:36.359 --> 00:19:39.960 And he is a buddy that ships things over from 00:19:39.960 --> 00:19:44.200 the UK or from, sorry, Europe, so we could piggyback 00:19:44.200 --> 00:19:47.259 on those parts. Yeah, no, it worked out really 00:19:47.259 --> 00:19:50.279 good. We had found it in Germany, and my parents 00:19:50.279 --> 00:19:53.079 happened to be going there on a trip anyway to 00:19:53.079 --> 00:19:55.700 visit family, and so I asked them to swing by 00:19:55.700 --> 00:19:59.910 and take a look at it. They called me back after 00:19:59.910 --> 00:20:01.970 and they said, well, we've got good and bad news 00:20:01.970 --> 00:20:04.650 for you. So we signed the papers and you owe 00:20:04.650 --> 00:20:11.849 him this much money. But along the lines of that 00:20:11.849 --> 00:20:14.910 baler, too, actually, we had been looking at 00:20:14.910 --> 00:20:16.789 ways to make more money per acre on the crop 00:20:16.789 --> 00:20:18.990 side of it without not just beans and corn. Right. 00:20:19.009 --> 00:20:21.750 So once we once we switch to the baler, then 00:20:21.750 --> 00:20:25.579 we could. you know, open our market to people 00:20:25.579 --> 00:20:27.559 that also didn't want to hand bomb small bales 00:20:27.559 --> 00:20:29.980 anymore in our, in my horse community that I've 00:20:29.980 --> 00:20:32.480 grown up with. And we've kind of made more as 00:20:32.480 --> 00:20:34.579 we've started making these bales and then recently 00:20:34.579 --> 00:20:36.980 purchased a bale dryer so we can make primo quality. 00:20:37.500 --> 00:20:40.220 So the whole thing just, yeah, it was a good 00:20:40.220 --> 00:20:43.440 decision, but it's just expanded the hay sale 00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:46.019 part of our business as well. And the quality 00:20:46.019 --> 00:20:49.519 we were able to put out. Now you talk about the 00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:52.480 horse background and you don't come from a dairy 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:55.200 background from my understanding. So what got 00:20:55.200 --> 00:20:59.779 you into this and how did you get involved? Yeah, 00:20:59.779 --> 00:21:01.519 so one of your questions was coming from the 00:21:01.519 --> 00:21:03.720 city. I am not a city girl ever. I've been a 00:21:03.720 --> 00:21:05.640 small town girl my whole life. My parents were 00:21:05.640 --> 00:21:07.720 city slickers. So my dad was a printer and my 00:21:07.720 --> 00:21:12.500 mom worked for like CFS or something. But I was 00:21:12.500 --> 00:21:14.359 born wanting to be a horse, and then eventually 00:21:14.359 --> 00:21:16.460 I could get my own, but I had to pay for it. 00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:18.779 So I milked everyone else's cows and washed pig 00:21:18.779 --> 00:21:20.819 barns and gathered eggs and vaccinated chickens 00:21:20.819 --> 00:21:23.660 until I could pay for my own horse. So when I 00:21:23.660 --> 00:21:25.759 met Marcus, it was totally natural that I wanted, 00:21:25.859 --> 00:21:29.279 you know, him and a dairy was great, like bonus. 00:21:30.700 --> 00:21:33.099 It wasn't hard. And you still have some horses, 00:21:33.160 --> 00:21:35.240 do you not? I have four right now, yeah. Well, 00:21:35.299 --> 00:21:38.039 three and a quarter. I have a mini horse. Yeah, 00:21:38.079 --> 00:21:40.059 I still actively show. I mean, it's hard to find 00:21:40.059 --> 00:21:42.339 the time, but I do have one show horse. And Marcus 00:21:42.339 --> 00:21:44.400 came with a horse who's now aging, but he's still 00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:47.420 here. And a lot of the people that I ride with 00:21:47.420 --> 00:21:50.880 and I've met over my life buy hay from us. And, 00:21:50.940 --> 00:21:53.160 yeah, it's all kind of circled around to be – 00:21:53.160 --> 00:21:56.680 it's good because everyone teases Marcus about 00:21:56.680 --> 00:21:58.859 having a horse wife, that it just spends money, 00:21:58.920 --> 00:22:01.319 but actually it worked out the other way around. 00:22:03.119 --> 00:22:06.259 It does spend money, but it also – Oh, if they 00:22:06.259 --> 00:22:08.579 really knew, they knew I'd spend money. Yeah, 00:22:08.599 --> 00:22:15.859 I know. We had horses as a kid, and then they 00:22:15.859 --> 00:22:18.240 started stirring up the cows just before milking 00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:20.200 every day. So it wasn't long after that that 00:22:20.200 --> 00:22:22.460 Grandpa decided that my mother's from a horse 00:22:22.460 --> 00:22:25.240 background as well. And it didn't mix well for 00:22:25.240 --> 00:22:28.000 us. So Grandpa had to get rid of the cows or 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:29.819 had to get rid of the horses because he wasn't 00:22:29.819 --> 00:22:31.799 liking them being stirred up just before milking. 00:22:31.859 --> 00:22:35.200 Almost every day the horses were reliable. Grandpa 00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:37.519 just needed to build another fence line so they 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:45.000 weren't together. But not for me. And now you 00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:48.240 have two kids, two young kids. Yeah, two of the 00:22:48.240 --> 00:22:52.299 five -year -olds we do. In putting in the robots 00:22:52.299 --> 00:22:54.759 and doing all this, is the goal to be a next 00:22:54.759 --> 00:22:56.640 generation in here? Is it too young with the 00:22:56.640 --> 00:23:00.700 kids? Is that kind of the plan is diversify operations 00:23:00.700 --> 00:23:03.180 and make it a family endeavor? Or what is the 00:23:03.180 --> 00:23:08.710 goal? That's a good question. So the robot itself, 00:23:09.109 --> 00:23:14.750 I fully expect it to be retired by the time our 00:23:14.750 --> 00:23:19.789 girls are old enough to be a farm. But it was 00:23:19.789 --> 00:23:22.509 a great way for us to, or is a great way for 00:23:22.509 --> 00:23:26.009 us to utilize the barn, you know, while it's 00:23:26.009 --> 00:23:28.750 still in great shape. And so, yeah, we will have 00:23:28.750 --> 00:23:32.809 steps to figure out down the road when that thing 00:23:32.809 --> 00:23:37.430 reaches its maturity. but otherwise diversity 00:23:37.430 --> 00:23:40.349 has really been been our key trying to figure 00:23:40.349 --> 00:23:43.410 out how how we can do better with what we're 00:23:43.410 --> 00:23:48.130 doing without just getting bigger okay and it 00:23:48.130 --> 00:23:50.150 seems like you guys have a great partnership 00:23:50.150 --> 00:23:52.869 but you're both also probably it seems like you 00:23:52.869 --> 00:23:55.589 have uh both have strong opinions too how is 00:23:55.589 --> 00:23:58.150 that uh how has that worked on the farm for you 00:23:58.150 --> 00:24:02.150 guys and uh how do you manage that oh it's uh 00:24:02.920 --> 00:24:05.160 I find it fairly simple because I take care of 00:24:05.160 --> 00:24:07.259 the crops and Paige takes care of the cows. So 00:24:07.259 --> 00:24:09.400 we help each other, but we have our own opinions 00:24:09.400 --> 00:24:14.200 about our own things. Yeah, no, I mean, to me, 00:24:14.220 --> 00:24:16.599 it's ideal. We can raise our kids here. We have 00:24:16.599 --> 00:24:19.000 a love -filled marriage and a business relationship. 00:24:19.160 --> 00:24:21.180 It's fine. Each wants the best for each other. 00:24:21.240 --> 00:24:24.160 So we make up for each other's shortfalls and 00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:25.859 support each other through the hard times in 00:24:25.859 --> 00:24:28.299 their sector of our business. And yeah, I wouldn't 00:24:28.299 --> 00:24:31.349 change it. I wouldn't say it's challenging. Because 00:24:31.349 --> 00:24:33.109 we don't tend to have opposite strong opinions 00:24:33.109 --> 00:24:36.509 on the same topic very often. Okay. Okay. Sometimes 00:24:36.509 --> 00:24:38.869 you need to hear the strong opinion, too. It's 00:24:38.869 --> 00:24:40.750 also helpful. It's helpful to be challenged. 00:24:43.130 --> 00:24:48.970 And dairy farming or farming is never easy. Have 00:24:48.970 --> 00:24:51.509 you guys had any significant challenges that 00:24:51.509 --> 00:24:53.509 have really tested you, or have you guys always 00:24:53.509 --> 00:24:58.509 found a way to kind of battle through? It's a 00:24:58.509 --> 00:25:04.500 little while. I don't think, I wouldn't say that 00:25:04.500 --> 00:25:10.599 we've been challenged between us. Okay, so there 00:25:10.599 --> 00:25:13.000 is a quick answer to that, actually. In the early 00:25:13.000 --> 00:25:17.140 days, before we had kids, like, starting to feel 00:25:17.140 --> 00:25:18.839 like a long time ago, but before we had kids, 00:25:18.960 --> 00:25:21.819 Marcus was supposed to be working, like, very 00:25:21.819 --> 00:25:24.660 part -time for a company doing manure management. 00:25:25.559 --> 00:25:28.740 seed sales and um dairy consulting and stuff 00:25:28.740 --> 00:25:31.359 and that guy was really good we're still very 00:25:31.359 --> 00:25:32.640 good friends with this company and this is the 00:25:32.640 --> 00:25:35.000 person by the way but taking more and more and 00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:37.460 more of his time until i also realized i was 00:25:37.460 --> 00:25:41.660 farming with his father and i was like okay i 00:25:41.660 --> 00:25:43.559 signed up to do this with you so if you're leaving 00:25:43.559 --> 00:25:45.759 me to do this with your dad something's got to 00:25:45.759 --> 00:25:48.319 change because i'm not happy and that was a little 00:25:48.319 --> 00:25:52.480 tough um for me because i didn't have the person 00:25:52.480 --> 00:25:54.099 i wanted to be doing this with around and for 00:25:54.099 --> 00:25:56.589 him because He also didn't want to be leaving 00:25:56.589 --> 00:25:59.170 when, you know, we're busy farming here and he's 00:25:59.170 --> 00:26:00.650 off to, like, tell other people how to farm. 00:26:00.930 --> 00:26:03.150 So in that little transition phase, getting him 00:26:03.150 --> 00:26:05.150 out of that job and back full time, I would say 00:26:05.150 --> 00:26:09.650 that was tough. Yeah. Almost forgot about it, 00:26:09.670 --> 00:26:13.430 so, yeah. Okay. So we've moved on. It's working 00:26:13.430 --> 00:26:15.930 better now. Yeah. Then we had cases with a whole 00:26:15.930 --> 00:26:20.599 different thing, but it was as bad as that. When 00:26:20.599 --> 00:26:22.720 you chat with your parents, you guys have made 00:26:22.720 --> 00:26:25.519 a lot of changes to your parents. Do they get 00:26:25.519 --> 00:26:28.640 excited about all the changes you guys have made, 00:26:28.740 --> 00:26:30.859 or how has their reaction to all of this been? 00:26:30.920 --> 00:26:32.559 It sounds like they were also helped involved 00:26:32.559 --> 00:26:38.799 in making some of the changes. I would say they're 00:26:38.799 --> 00:26:40.519 always supportive and excited to see the next 00:26:40.519 --> 00:26:43.000 thing. Especially if they don't have to pilot 00:26:43.000 --> 00:26:46.180 it or make decisions about it. They're great 00:26:46.180 --> 00:26:48.619 at giving opinions and encouraging and being 00:26:48.619 --> 00:26:50.700 there, but they are not going to be the ones 00:26:50.700 --> 00:26:53.539 making these decisions, that's for sure. But 00:26:53.539 --> 00:26:59.440 they love being part of it. Oh, yeah. Now, you 00:26:59.440 --> 00:27:02.440 talk about love being part of it, and it brings 00:27:02.440 --> 00:27:08.640 me back to the robot change. It had to be quite 00:27:08.640 --> 00:27:13.039 a learning curve, as we discussed. Was it a... 00:27:13.279 --> 00:27:15.279 smooth learning curve? Has it been good? Like 00:27:15.279 --> 00:27:18.460 if you were to do it again, would you do it in 00:27:18.460 --> 00:27:20.420 a heartbeat or what have you learned with going 00:27:20.420 --> 00:27:25.519 through all that? Oh yeah, I have no regrets 00:27:25.519 --> 00:27:32.799 with it. I wish I could have learned what I learned 00:27:32.799 --> 00:27:35.420 in the first year. I wish I could have learned 00:27:35.420 --> 00:27:37.660 that before I put the robot in and that would 00:27:37.660 --> 00:27:43.619 have saved a lot of headaches. Maybe shadow a 00:27:43.619 --> 00:27:47.579 farm that has one for a couple weeks before you 00:27:47.579 --> 00:27:51.079 put in a robot. That would certainly be helpful. 00:27:51.920 --> 00:27:53.900 And what has it been like you're learning? Have 00:27:53.900 --> 00:27:55.420 you talked about things you would have liked 00:27:55.420 --> 00:27:57.880 to have known beforehand so that you could have 00:27:57.880 --> 00:28:00.220 managed it better or would do it differently? 00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:02.940 If someone else was installing one, what would 00:28:02.940 --> 00:28:06.900 you say to them? The software is a lot to learn. 00:28:07.140 --> 00:28:11.200 And knowing where to look in the software and 00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:14.759 how to look for, um for problems in cows that 00:28:14.759 --> 00:28:18.039 are health events or the system may be missing 00:28:18.039 --> 00:28:22.759 something or uh i would say how to tell the robot 00:28:22.759 --> 00:28:24.539 to tell you what you want to see it's very hard 00:28:24.539 --> 00:28:29.440 to tell you what you want to see yeah without 00:28:29.440 --> 00:28:32.299 knowing what it can tell you yeah it's uh it's 00:28:32.299 --> 00:28:34.200 like learning to totally just being dumped in 00:28:34.200 --> 00:28:35.920 a different country and you have to just figure 00:28:35.920 --> 00:28:38.680 it out but but on those lines you got to know 00:28:38.680 --> 00:28:41.140 whether you If you don't have a dealer in your 00:28:41.140 --> 00:28:45.839 area, you need to be prepared to learn a lot. 00:28:46.319 --> 00:28:49.380 But, again, once you can be your own technician, 00:28:49.640 --> 00:28:51.579 you don't need to call anybody or pay the money. 00:28:52.119 --> 00:28:53.680 So it's just what are you willing to learn and 00:28:53.680 --> 00:28:55.099 how much time do you have to dedicate to it. 00:28:55.519 --> 00:28:57.420 And then you don't have the downtime either if 00:28:57.420 --> 00:28:59.140 you can do it yourself. Yeah, you're never waiting 00:28:59.140 --> 00:29:03.559 for someone. Now, I wonder, you talk about the 00:29:03.559 --> 00:29:05.579 Brown -Swiss being calmer. I wonder if that almost 00:29:05.579 --> 00:29:09.289 works well in this situation. And then because, 00:29:09.390 --> 00:29:11.890 you know, if you get a spooky kind of flighty 00:29:11.890 --> 00:29:13.789 cow and this thing is coming up behind them, 00:29:13.849 --> 00:29:15.630 it probably would scare the heck out of them. 00:29:15.789 --> 00:29:17.450 Have you found the brown Swiss a little better 00:29:17.450 --> 00:29:20.190 because of that maybe? Maybe, but we certainly 00:29:20.190 --> 00:29:22.849 have ones that are spooky and flighty with that 00:29:22.849 --> 00:29:24.990 too when we start training. They just take longer. 00:29:25.190 --> 00:29:27.269 Typically it takes seven days to teach a heifer 00:29:27.269 --> 00:29:30.549 to calmly accept, you know, the robot. And the 00:29:30.549 --> 00:29:32.950 freaky ones might take two weeks, but not often. 00:29:34.950 --> 00:29:37.980 Now you. According to my notes, you've had like 00:29:37.980 --> 00:29:40.380 a 40 % production increase. So that doesn't come 00:29:40.380 --> 00:29:44.359 just by fluke, but you say it was multiple factors. 00:29:44.460 --> 00:29:50.299 You said you switched feed, you changed the milking. 00:29:50.559 --> 00:29:52.940 What other things have you been kind of tweaking 00:29:52.940 --> 00:29:54.839 or you continue to tweak to help increase your 00:29:54.839 --> 00:29:58.660 production? We've made big changes to calf management. 00:29:58.799 --> 00:30:01.619 So they're coming out, you know, it starts right 00:30:01.619 --> 00:30:03.599 from the beginning, glossary management, timing. 00:30:04.240 --> 00:30:06.200 Timely collection of colostrums, feeding them 00:30:06.200 --> 00:30:08.839 it, how we wean them, how we vaccinate them. 00:30:10.480 --> 00:30:13.799 Our transition, you know, close -up calving cows 00:30:13.799 --> 00:30:16.299 are managed differently so that they come in 00:30:16.299 --> 00:30:19.539 booming. That's the goal. But, you know, it changes 00:30:19.539 --> 00:30:22.019 seasonally. Sometimes it feels like the wind 00:30:22.019 --> 00:30:23.359 blows a different way and then you have problems. 00:30:23.460 --> 00:30:26.299 But just like everything around cow management 00:30:26.299 --> 00:30:28.599 has been tweaked and refined, and that's from 00:30:28.599 --> 00:30:31.000 the change that we did to our feed company and 00:30:31.000 --> 00:30:33.099 our vet and just working with those two people 00:30:33.099 --> 00:30:37.349 together. has made the cows capable of the production 00:30:37.349 --> 00:30:41.170 that we can get now. So it sounds like, well, 00:30:41.230 --> 00:30:43.710 you maybe don't spend as much time having to 00:30:43.710 --> 00:30:45.849 actually physically milk the cows. It does sound 00:30:45.849 --> 00:30:48.329 like you guys have spent a lot of time, A, learning 00:30:48.329 --> 00:30:51.549 the system, but then also using the system to 00:30:51.549 --> 00:30:54.069 help you improve. Would that be kind of accurate? 00:30:55.769 --> 00:30:58.549 Yeah. I'd say over the last, you know, after 00:30:58.549 --> 00:31:00.410 the last, the first three years of it being in, 00:31:00.470 --> 00:31:02.329 that our time having to really be in there is 00:31:02.329 --> 00:31:07.460 a lot. it's not as bad as it sounds like well 00:31:07.460 --> 00:31:13.420 and a lot of it um we can like i can be in a 00:31:13.420 --> 00:31:16.000 tractor and still look at the reports from the 00:31:16.000 --> 00:31:20.339 robot on my phone assuming yeah assuming the 00:31:20.339 --> 00:31:24.859 gps works 90 of the time when it calls you can 00:31:24.859 --> 00:31:26.920 actually log on to an app on our phone and fix 00:31:26.920 --> 00:31:29.779 it unless you don't need to go in there And the 00:31:29.779 --> 00:31:31.440 reports are just like anything else. You're in 00:31:31.440 --> 00:31:33.140 to feed, you sit down, you look at reports for 00:31:33.140 --> 00:31:35.500 10 minutes, and you're done. Whereas those 10 00:31:35.500 --> 00:31:38.440 minutes used to be, you know, washing up or carrying 00:31:38.440 --> 00:31:40.660 machines cow to cow, that kind of stuff. So when 00:31:40.660 --> 00:31:43.099 I think of a traditional robotic farm, so we 00:31:43.099 --> 00:31:45.859 always come to the conclusion of it doesn't change 00:31:45.859 --> 00:31:48.539 the number of hours that you work, but it probably 00:31:48.539 --> 00:31:51.539 changes the type of work you do in the sense 00:31:51.539 --> 00:31:54.119 of they spend more time kind of managing the 00:31:54.119 --> 00:31:58.589 farm and less time being the grunt labor. pretty 00:31:58.589 --> 00:32:01.569 much the same in that way? Yeah, I think that 00:32:01.569 --> 00:32:08.630 the overall hours per day from before robot to 00:32:08.630 --> 00:32:14.710 now is probably the same. The biggest change 00:32:14.710 --> 00:32:19.569 for me is that it used to be every time when 00:32:19.569 --> 00:32:21.670 we milked, we had to have two people in the barn. 00:32:21.829 --> 00:32:24.529 It was always a two -person job to do the milking 00:32:24.529 --> 00:32:26.289 because we would milk and feed at the same time. 00:32:28.029 --> 00:32:31.390 Now, we can do it as two people and then the 00:32:31.390 --> 00:32:35.349 jobs just go faster. But the barn is now fully 00:32:35.349 --> 00:32:39.690 manageable as one person. Ends up being a long 00:32:39.690 --> 00:32:43.130 day, but you can do it. It was a way longer day 00:32:43.130 --> 00:32:45.230 when one person did it the old way. Oh, yes. 00:32:45.589 --> 00:32:52.900 Oh, yeah. Now, is the goal to... make it as manageable 00:32:52.900 --> 00:32:56.720 by one person or is it a goal is to grow or where 00:32:56.720 --> 00:32:59.359 do you guys sit on that? Is it in the big picture 00:32:59.359 --> 00:33:02.440 if you're looking at your next steps? I think 00:33:02.440 --> 00:33:04.839 looking at the next steps, it's kind of trying 00:33:04.839 --> 00:33:10.019 to figure out how to manage employees within 00:33:10.019 --> 00:33:14.259 our system because my parents are aging and so 00:33:14.259 --> 00:33:18.920 they're going to start slowing down and the robot 00:33:18.920 --> 00:33:23.700 gives us kind of a a nice ability to build like 00:33:23.700 --> 00:33:27.180 an eight -hour workday block for somebody to 00:33:27.180 --> 00:33:29.619 come and show up for a period as opposed to showing 00:33:29.619 --> 00:33:32.599 up for a two -hour working shift and expecting 00:33:32.599 --> 00:33:35.579 to have, you know, reliable people. And certainly 00:33:35.579 --> 00:33:38.779 there are people that do that, but they're harder 00:33:38.779 --> 00:33:44.160 to find. And is there a reliable source of kind 00:33:44.160 --> 00:33:46.339 of labor for you guys where you are or is finding 00:33:46.339 --> 00:33:49.920 people to help is quite the challenge? I would 00:33:49.920 --> 00:33:51.700 say in our position right now, because we have 00:33:51.700 --> 00:33:53.339 kind of, I call it almost shift work, like they 00:33:53.339 --> 00:33:55.059 come and they go home for lunch and they come 00:33:55.059 --> 00:33:56.380 and they go home for breakfast and the day is 00:33:56.380 --> 00:34:00.400 done early. We've had good success having kids 00:34:00.400 --> 00:34:01.779 right now. I don't want to say kids, but like 00:34:01.779 --> 00:34:03.359 young people that are still either in school 00:34:03.359 --> 00:34:05.819 or, you know, don't want those 40 hours a week. 00:34:06.079 --> 00:34:08.760 If we start looking for a 40 -hour weeker, I 00:34:08.760 --> 00:34:13.420 think it's going to be harder. So you're able 00:34:13.420 --> 00:34:15.800 to give that flexibility to someone quite a bit 00:34:15.800 --> 00:34:18.539 that way? Yeah, we haven't had to yet, but it's... 00:34:18.670 --> 00:34:22.510 We know it's coming. So, yeah, it's in the back 00:34:22.510 --> 00:34:24.070 burner. You know, you just keep your ear to the 00:34:24.070 --> 00:34:26.190 ground for someone that would suit because they'll 00:34:26.190 --> 00:34:28.369 definitely become almost like a member of the 00:34:28.369 --> 00:34:31.750 team. You need them to run the place like it's 00:34:31.750 --> 00:34:33.690 theirs. That's our goal, to find someone that 00:34:33.690 --> 00:34:37.730 really wants to belong. And with the young people 00:34:37.730 --> 00:34:41.349 right now, it works great, but they're not feeling 00:34:41.349 --> 00:34:43.550 the hours or doing the jobs that we'd expect 00:34:43.550 --> 00:34:45.909 from a full -time worker. I think they're out 00:34:45.909 --> 00:34:47.969 there. You just got to take your time and find 00:34:47.969 --> 00:34:51.230 the one that fits. Now, from my understanding, 00:34:51.349 --> 00:34:53.989 you guys are the first one of this style of robot 00:34:53.989 --> 00:34:57.409 in Western Canada. Have you had others who kind 00:34:57.409 --> 00:34:59.590 of said, hey, that's neat and considerate, or 00:34:59.590 --> 00:35:02.730 what has been the reaction to most of the people 00:35:02.730 --> 00:35:05.670 you work with or the neighbors? So we've had 00:35:05.670 --> 00:35:08.590 that reaction a few times, and usually it was 00:35:08.590 --> 00:35:11.630 fairly quickly followed by, but I'm only interested 00:35:11.630 --> 00:35:15.990 if there's going to be a dealer close by. Because 00:35:15.990 --> 00:35:18.309 most of the people that we've talked to are not 00:35:18.309 --> 00:35:24.130 literate in robotics, and they don't want to 00:35:24.130 --> 00:35:28.070 become literate in it. So it's certainly something 00:35:28.070 --> 00:35:30.329 different if you're going to have to figure out 00:35:30.329 --> 00:35:34.130 how to run hydraulics and mechanical alongside 00:35:34.130 --> 00:35:39.730 electronics. Like computers and relays. I don't 00:35:39.730 --> 00:35:41.730 know. It's fascinating how many different things 00:35:41.730 --> 00:35:44.630 markets can fix. and their life have nothing 00:35:44.630 --> 00:35:48.150 to do with each other. I had a small heart attack 00:35:48.150 --> 00:35:50.710 when the robot showed up and they opened up the 00:35:50.710 --> 00:35:54.409 control panel, and all I saw was wires and relays. 00:35:54.590 --> 00:35:58.190 It is a very overwhelming picture when you look 00:35:58.190 --> 00:36:00.070 at it from afar, but you know what? Farming's 00:36:00.070 --> 00:36:01.789 like that in general, so you have to break it 00:36:01.789 --> 00:36:03.690 down and learn it in pieces, just like no one 00:36:03.690 --> 00:36:05.570 gets a university degree in a week, so it's going 00:36:05.570 --> 00:36:07.869 to take time and dedication, and I don't know. 00:36:07.969 --> 00:36:10.050 The rewards are great, but yeah, it's a scary 00:36:10.050 --> 00:36:14.539 start. It's interesting because, you know, they 00:36:14.539 --> 00:36:16.559 say when you're a traditional robot, the first 00:36:16.559 --> 00:36:18.380 thing you say is you almost don't buy the brand. 00:36:18.460 --> 00:36:21.679 You buy by the service people or the people around 00:36:21.679 --> 00:36:24.420 you. It makes a bigger difference. I think you 00:36:24.420 --> 00:36:27.059 guys are saying that. And having said that, though, 00:36:27.099 --> 00:36:28.860 you guys have become your own service people, 00:36:28.960 --> 00:36:30.639 I think, I guess, is what you're telling us as 00:36:30.639 --> 00:36:33.659 well, as you've had to kind of become fully trained 00:36:33.659 --> 00:36:36.860 as well. That is very much how that worked out. 00:36:39.159 --> 00:36:43.159 But we went into this expecting still to be the 00:36:43.159 --> 00:36:48.659 primary caretaker of the robot. Then we were 00:36:48.659 --> 00:36:52.039 just forcing that. We were hoping to have the 00:36:52.039 --> 00:36:55.739 backup dealer still close by, but that didn't 00:36:55.739 --> 00:37:00.960 work out for us. Now, you both do come from university 00:37:00.960 --> 00:37:03.679 science backgrounds. Do you think that helped 00:37:03.679 --> 00:37:05.719 at least to show the willingness to kind of go 00:37:05.719 --> 00:37:07.840 through all this learning process? Or is that 00:37:07.840 --> 00:37:10.219 not helped? Or how would you describe that part? 00:37:11.000 --> 00:37:13.400 Oh, I'd say it helps. I don't know. University 00:37:13.400 --> 00:37:15.940 is definitely a bit of a force yourself through 00:37:15.940 --> 00:37:19.579 it because you want the paper. It also teaches 00:37:19.579 --> 00:37:22.239 you how to think a little bit differently. Like 00:37:22.239 --> 00:37:26.199 we found with our degree that it's really taught 00:37:26.199 --> 00:37:30.570 us. not always the answer, but how to find the 00:37:30.570 --> 00:37:33.289 answer. Or prevent the situation because there 00:37:33.289 --> 00:37:35.730 are, you know, you've got to trace back and just 00:37:35.730 --> 00:37:39.469 think deeper, bigger, yeah. And you guys obviously 00:37:39.469 --> 00:37:42.550 have done that. I think every decision I would 00:37:42.550 --> 00:37:44.130 come across here, it looks like you've done it. 00:37:44.150 --> 00:37:46.170 You've applied that process to most everything 00:37:46.170 --> 00:37:49.030 is look at it a little differently and really, 00:37:49.090 --> 00:37:51.269 really think about either how do we prevent it 00:37:51.269 --> 00:37:54.449 or how do we solve it. So that's very impressive. 00:37:55.150 --> 00:37:57.530 and i think that contributed greatly to your 00:37:57.530 --> 00:38:01.389 outstanding farmer award so congratulations on 00:38:01.389 --> 00:38:04.210 that uh how did you find out about that and what 00:38:04.210 --> 00:38:08.150 does that mean for you guys yeah thank you um 00:38:08.150 --> 00:38:10.809 how do we find out i think you get an email i 00:38:10.809 --> 00:38:19.130 don't even remember honestly though that's for 00:38:19.130 --> 00:38:21.670 when we got a phone call okay we were nominated 00:38:21.670 --> 00:38:25.179 like what is that because really we I know that 00:38:25.179 --> 00:38:27.179 our dairy farmers in Manitoba, like AGM, they 00:38:27.179 --> 00:38:29.519 have talked about OAS because they're a supporter 00:38:29.519 --> 00:38:31.820 and there's members that have been nominated 00:38:31.820 --> 00:38:33.639 and gone through the process, but you don't really 00:38:33.639 --> 00:38:35.940 think about it until it pertains to you or someone 00:38:35.940 --> 00:38:38.300 near you. So it was a little bit also investigating 00:38:38.300 --> 00:38:41.019 what is it, and oh, that's kind of cool, and 00:38:41.019 --> 00:38:42.800 also what's now involved, and it was kind of 00:38:42.800 --> 00:38:46.159 a lot, but also an excellent exercise to go through. 00:38:46.340 --> 00:38:48.679 As far as like personal growth and deep questions 00:38:48.679 --> 00:38:50.820 about your business and yourselves, it was, yeah, 00:38:50.860 --> 00:38:54.570 it was cool. Do they cause you to rethink any 00:38:54.570 --> 00:38:56.670 things about your business when you look that 00:38:56.670 --> 00:39:01.469 deep into it? Or they usually can help you improve 00:39:01.469 --> 00:39:03.429 even just by going through the process? They 00:39:03.429 --> 00:39:06.889 force me to look at things you wouldn't. So, 00:39:06.969 --> 00:39:13.789 yeah, we were nominated once before. Pre -kids, 00:39:13.949 --> 00:39:17.510 very young. Yeah, we were very young. And we 00:39:17.510 --> 00:39:19.710 had basically just taken over the farm and were 00:39:19.710 --> 00:39:22.280 running it. at the moment just the way my parents 00:39:22.280 --> 00:39:24.420 had run it and hadn't really put much thought 00:39:24.420 --> 00:39:28.519 into a lot of the things because we were just 00:39:28.519 --> 00:39:31.280 focused on getting the running of it figured 00:39:31.280 --> 00:39:33.860 out also you were smart you were working in the 00:39:33.860 --> 00:39:37.119 bag here enough to dedicate time to it so then 00:39:37.119 --> 00:39:39.780 then you have to go through that there is a whole 00:39:39.780 --> 00:39:41.739 list of questions that you have to go through 00:39:41.739 --> 00:39:44.579 and answer and you really have to dig deep and 00:39:44.579 --> 00:39:49.630 figure it out and throughout That process, we 00:39:49.630 --> 00:39:54.829 ended up, we left our accountant, we left the 00:39:54.829 --> 00:40:00.989 bank, and we changed lawyers. Okay. Yeah. Because 00:40:00.989 --> 00:40:02.849 you hadn't looked in those areas yet, right? 00:40:02.849 --> 00:40:06.010 Hadn't hit the radar and, yeah. And so we, yeah, 00:40:06.070 --> 00:40:09.349 it really pointed out that, oh, we need to change 00:40:09.349 --> 00:40:16.929 these. Okay. Wow. So it was very. eye -opening 00:40:16.929 --> 00:40:20.909 for you, that process. What are the things that 00:40:20.909 --> 00:40:22.670 you're working on improving now or what are the 00:40:22.670 --> 00:40:25.210 things that has caught your attention that you 00:40:25.210 --> 00:40:26.989 need to still improve or want to take to the 00:40:26.989 --> 00:40:31.070 next level? I think that being a smart financial 00:40:31.070 --> 00:40:34.250 manager is a big part of it. You know, like which 00:40:34.250 --> 00:40:36.869 loans to grab, when to buy, when not to buy, 00:40:37.070 --> 00:40:41.170 what to buy, you know, which decisions are sustainable 00:40:41.170 --> 00:40:43.530 and aren't. Just in that, you know, whatever 00:40:43.530 --> 00:40:47.670 you want to call that. Yeah. I kind of think 00:40:47.670 --> 00:40:49.730 we're sitting in a bit of a happy spot right 00:40:49.730 --> 00:40:51.829 now, and we're just waiting to seize an opportunity. 00:40:52.269 --> 00:40:55.690 We're not really chasing one yet. We'll see what 00:40:55.690 --> 00:41:00.190 happens. Like this year? Sure. Do you find yourself 00:41:00.190 --> 00:41:03.210 kind of ogling new technology when you see stuff 00:41:03.210 --> 00:41:07.670 come out, or is it more just... For me, yes. 00:41:07.789 --> 00:41:11.570 I'm always quite aware of what's all going on. 00:41:12.949 --> 00:41:17.940 It's interesting. And a lot of the times I'm 00:41:17.940 --> 00:41:21.719 able to find ways of some of the new stuff, you 00:41:21.719 --> 00:41:23.760 know, like maybe some of the elements of the 00:41:23.760 --> 00:41:25.559 new stuff that I think is really cool and I can 00:41:25.559 --> 00:41:28.099 find a way to integrate it into what we're currently 00:41:28.099 --> 00:41:30.159 doing without having to go and switch stuff. 00:41:30.920 --> 00:41:34.940 Okay. Are you always kind of reviewing the whole 00:41:34.940 --> 00:41:36.920 process now, especially that you've gone that 00:41:36.920 --> 00:41:38.820 in -depth thing? Is it kind of a thing you guys 00:41:38.820 --> 00:41:40.940 want to continue to do? Does that always be kind 00:41:40.940 --> 00:41:45.599 of refining? It's a great theory. I'm not sure 00:41:45.599 --> 00:41:48.719 if we always have the time for it. But, you know, 00:41:48.739 --> 00:41:51.599 it's nice when you're forced to sit down and 00:41:51.599 --> 00:41:56.019 take the time for it. Yeah, we're on our own 00:41:56.019 --> 00:41:59.579 now. And now that you're on the hook and you're 00:41:59.579 --> 00:42:01.699 in the Canadian dairy system, is there things 00:42:01.699 --> 00:42:03.639 that you love about the system, things you'd 00:42:03.639 --> 00:42:05.639 love to change about the Canadian dairy system 00:42:05.639 --> 00:42:08.719 that you guys work in? I saw that question. I 00:42:08.719 --> 00:42:10.880 was like, I don't know. I mean, supply management 00:42:10.880 --> 00:42:14.360 does. ease a lot of stress if you watch our fellow 00:42:14.360 --> 00:42:18.300 dairy farming human beings. If that stays implemented, 00:42:18.420 --> 00:42:22.139 that would be amazing. On a smaller scale of 00:42:22.139 --> 00:42:25.820 changing things, I wish that for us, we strive 00:42:25.820 --> 00:42:29.059 for excellence. And if that was either, maybe 00:42:29.059 --> 00:42:31.079 not so much rewarded for our efforts, but if 00:42:31.079 --> 00:42:34.559 those that don't meet the excellence criteria, 00:42:34.920 --> 00:42:36.719 especially with animal care, if they were a little 00:42:36.719 --> 00:42:39.280 bit, there was like a stiffer law for that type 00:42:39.280 --> 00:42:43.679 of thing to eliminate it. Again, people want 00:42:43.679 --> 00:42:45.119 to drink milk and we need milk, so it's hard 00:42:45.119 --> 00:42:54.619 to police too hard. Along with the excellence 00:42:54.619 --> 00:42:59.039 that we strive for and the quality, we'd love 00:42:59.039 --> 00:43:04.199 to be able to sell raw milk. In our corner, there 00:43:04.199 --> 00:43:08.099 would be a massive market for it. I call them 00:43:08.099 --> 00:43:09.860 homesteaders. They want to make their own cheese 00:43:09.860 --> 00:43:11.860 and their yogurts, and they have their health 00:43:11.860 --> 00:43:14.380 benefits floating around. And, yeah, we would, 00:43:14.460 --> 00:43:16.800 with such a small dairy being able to manage, 00:43:16.860 --> 00:43:18.800 like, our bacteria count super low, we would 00:43:18.800 --> 00:43:23.300 quality wars frequently. It would be a neat thing 00:43:23.300 --> 00:43:27.519 to be able to do, yeah. Okay. Now, I ask this 00:43:27.519 --> 00:43:29.139 question, I wonder, because I think about when 00:43:29.139 --> 00:43:31.519 you guys have the robot system you have, and 00:43:31.519 --> 00:43:34.500 you talked about the quality of animal care. 00:43:35.260 --> 00:43:37.280 If you're not milking the cows as much, do you 00:43:37.280 --> 00:43:39.019 find that you still get a favorite cow? Do you 00:43:39.019 --> 00:43:41.559 have some favorite cows on the farm? And what 00:43:41.559 --> 00:43:43.820 makes the certain ones stand out if they do? 00:43:44.340 --> 00:43:46.340 I mean, I've been through many favorites, but 00:43:46.340 --> 00:43:48.320 the number one way to be a favorite is to go 00:43:48.320 --> 00:43:52.980 unnoticed. So, you know, no repro issues, no 00:43:52.980 --> 00:43:56.619 other issues. And then to hit five or six plus 00:43:56.619 --> 00:43:59.239 lactations is definitely, let's see what my good 00:43:59.239 --> 00:44:01.989 books are currently. My favorite is four -oak 00:44:01.989 --> 00:44:04.429 fat tigger, and she was out of a cow named Twinkle, 00:44:04.530 --> 00:44:08.230 who was our previous favorite. Her head is actually 00:44:08.230 --> 00:44:11.989 the one on our emblem. Okay. Yeah, she just milks 00:44:11.989 --> 00:44:14.289 big. She's on four quarters. She gets pregnant. 00:44:14.329 --> 00:44:16.210 She calves easy. I just know nothing much about 00:44:16.210 --> 00:44:18.809 her, and she's just a sexy cow. Super nice udder. 00:44:18.829 --> 00:44:22.429 Great animal. I notice her because she tops the 00:44:22.429 --> 00:44:25.070 production chart always. She's fresh, yeah. She's 00:44:25.070 --> 00:44:28.269 pushing 60 right now. For a brown, she's quite 00:44:28.269 --> 00:44:31.849 good. Yeah. But definitely longevity and being 00:44:31.849 --> 00:44:33.809 unnoticed, those are good ways to be favorites. 00:44:33.869 --> 00:44:37.730 Then if you have a nice body and ability to be 00:44:37.730 --> 00:44:40.530 here, that also gives you brownie points. Now, 00:44:40.550 --> 00:44:43.710 my understanding is that brown Swiss are really 00:44:43.710 --> 00:44:46.210 good reproductively. Have you guys been finding 00:44:46.210 --> 00:44:48.710 that? Like, is that my usual finding, or how 00:44:48.710 --> 00:44:50.909 are they for a repro? You know, I don't know 00:44:50.909 --> 00:44:53.030 if I would say that. I would say that they're 00:44:53.030 --> 00:44:55.369 very good at parody. Like, they're very good 00:44:55.369 --> 00:44:58.309 at having babies. come out of their body. As 00:44:58.309 --> 00:45:00.409 far as repro, I think they fight the same issues 00:45:00.409 --> 00:45:03.250 as everybody else, minus the fact that they don't 00:45:03.250 --> 00:45:05.090 tend to lose body condition like a whole team. 00:45:05.210 --> 00:45:06.989 They tend to melt their back fat off and have 00:45:06.989 --> 00:45:08.789 metabolic problems from that. We don't fight 00:45:08.789 --> 00:45:11.769 that often because they have a little more meat 00:45:11.769 --> 00:45:15.849 all the time, so there's some reserve. I think 00:45:15.849 --> 00:45:17.690 we fight the same issues as everybody else. They're 00:45:17.690 --> 00:45:21.650 just a little bit not quite so Ferrari -like. 00:45:21.750 --> 00:45:25.090 They have a bit of breathing room. As far as 00:45:25.090 --> 00:45:26.969 body condition goes, which is directly related 00:45:26.969 --> 00:45:30.110 to WePro. Now, you guys seem to have a lot of 00:45:30.110 --> 00:45:34.510 diversified interests. What is it that you love 00:45:34.510 --> 00:45:36.730 most about dairy farming or what is it about 00:45:36.730 --> 00:45:40.909 this that has you guys hooked in this area? I 00:45:40.909 --> 00:45:44.389 don't have to drive to work for 40 minutes. We 00:45:44.389 --> 00:45:46.449 can take our kids to work. Yeah, take a kid to 00:45:46.449 --> 00:45:48.690 work day every day. We come home for lunch. Yeah. 00:45:51.369 --> 00:45:53.530 That we're working for ourselves and not for 00:45:53.530 --> 00:45:56.630 a company that I either mildly believe in or 00:45:56.630 --> 00:45:59.969 don't believe in. Like the whole thing is I believe 00:45:59.969 --> 00:46:02.329 in it. I like the work. Don't need a gym pass. 00:46:03.190 --> 00:46:08.230 There's just a lot of benefits. Okay. And if 00:46:08.230 --> 00:46:10.389 you had to describe to someone kind of in an 00:46:10.389 --> 00:46:12.869 elevator pitch or a short thing, how would you 00:46:12.869 --> 00:46:19.469 describe your farm and what you guys do? I think. 00:46:20.320 --> 00:46:23.039 I mean, yeah, I don't know. I would say on our 00:46:23.039 --> 00:46:25.320 farm, we honestly have asked ourselves the question, 00:46:25.420 --> 00:46:28.639 what are we working for? Like, are we working 00:46:28.639 --> 00:46:31.179 to put more hours in to buy another thing, to 00:46:31.179 --> 00:46:34.440 buy it, to be bigger, to do this more? Or are 00:46:34.440 --> 00:46:36.860 we working to enjoy each other and our time and 00:46:36.860 --> 00:46:39.500 what we do? And I think we've very much settled 00:46:39.500 --> 00:46:42.659 in. We want to spend time with each other and 00:46:42.659 --> 00:46:46.139 as a family and enjoy life, you know, see the 00:46:46.139 --> 00:46:48.239 fall, smell the breeze, stop, smell the roses. 00:46:48.739 --> 00:46:53.199 So that's. You know, we work smart and we work 00:46:53.199 --> 00:46:57.880 hard, but it's all so that we can enjoy life 00:46:57.880 --> 00:47:00.300 and not just chase that never -ending growth 00:47:00.300 --> 00:47:04.519 that ends up making you lose the joy of what 00:47:04.519 --> 00:47:06.880 this business really involves. That was Marcus 00:47:06.880 --> 00:47:10.639 and Paige Duke from Four Oak Farms. A few things 00:47:10.639 --> 00:47:13.960 stuck with me from this one. First, you don't 00:47:13.960 --> 00:47:17.039 always need a new barn to go robotic. The Duex 00:47:17.039 --> 00:47:19.519 proved a rail -mounted system can work in a tie 00:47:19.519 --> 00:47:22.190 stall setup. And that's a game changer for mid 00:47:22.190 --> 00:47:24.949 -sized operations looking at automation without 00:47:24.949 --> 00:47:28.510 a seven -figure rebuild. Second, breed choice 00:47:28.510 --> 00:47:30.969 matters more than people think when you're pairing 00:47:30.969 --> 00:47:34.170 cows with robots. Brown Swiss might not be the 00:47:34.170 --> 00:47:36.530 flashiest pick, but that calm temperament and 00:47:36.530 --> 00:47:39.849 those component premiums, they add up. And third, 00:47:40.050 --> 00:47:43.769 this is a farm built on partnership. Marcus handles 00:47:43.769 --> 00:47:46.730 the crops and consulting. Paige runs the cows 00:47:46.730 --> 00:47:49.119 and the books. They've got their lanes, and they 00:47:49.119 --> 00:47:51.400 trust each other to stay in them. That might 00:47:51.400 --> 00:47:54.000 be the most valuable system on the whole operation. 00:47:54.840 --> 00:47:57.420 If you want to dig deeper, we've got the full 00:47:57.420 --> 00:47:59.679 written feature on this story at thebullvine 00:47:59.679 --> 00:48:03.260 .com, complete with photos of the Robomax in 00:48:03.260 --> 00:48:06.440 action and the Dueck family. If this episode 00:48:06.440 --> 00:48:08.840 got you thinking, share it with another producer. 00:48:09.559 --> 00:48:11.840 And if you've got a story like this one, reach 00:48:11.840 --> 00:48:15.880 out. We want to hear it. Until next time, thanks 00:48:15.880 --> 00:48:17.019 for listening to The Bull.