Michigan Dairy Tech is a dairy cow technology company in Olivet. The company originated as Kyle O’Brien’s first computer/I.T. business and blossomed into a farm technology company that services dairy farms all over the country. With ever changing technology comes technological advances many areas, including agriculture. O’Brien sensed a growing need for I.T. services in the world of agriculture, and quickly discovered the wide world of dairy needs.
O’Brien, owner and founder of Michigan Dairy Tech, never intended to work with dairy farms, cows, or their technology. He was an I.T. guy. He knew his future was in computers, but the dairy side of things sort fell into his lap over the last 20 years. Gradually he started hearing more about the needs of dairy farmers, and started moving his specialty to working with those farms.
“I just started hearing stuff. I.T. people are like that,” said O’Brien.
Likewise, O’Brien didn’t grow up around dairy cows, or any kind of farm. The world of dairy was brand new to him, but his I.T. brain power kicked in and he started learning the ins and outs of modern dairy tech. There are neck monitors to detect when a cow is in heat and how much the cow is chewing, udder monitors that can test the cow’s milk as it’s being milked, robotic arms that can automatically spray disinfectant on a cow’s udders, and much more.
The technological needs of each farm are different, according to O’Brien. Michigan Dairy Tech services farms with herds anywhere from 300 to 1,400. Each farmer has a different approach to milking cows, so they all generally want slightly different things. O’Brien recognizes that, while Michigan is in the top ten of dairy producing states, many of the milking parlors are running on old school milk tech. The largest farms are updating, while many with the smaller herds are decades behind. Because most of the farms in and around Olivet are smaller, Michigan Dairy Tech’s closest clients are in Battle Creek and Mason.
For farmers who are looking to expand their herd, O’Brien suggests looking into some of the technology offered through Michigan Dairy Tech. As herds grow it becomes more difficult for a farmer to keep track of all the animals. Michigan Dairy Tech works with technology that opens and closes gates based on timers, automatic calf feeders, and dozens of other gadgets farmers and readers may have never thought of.
To the average reader O’Brien simply suggests to continue buying milk. Farmers are America’s backbone, working hard to keep families fed. Only the largest of farms are breaking even and making money on milk currently, while the smaller farms are having to find niche markets in order to make a profit. Dairy farmers especially take great care of their animals because happy, comfortable cows produce the best quality milk.
