Skyline Dairy Ltd wins Milk Quality Award

Mar 01, 2023

The Grunthal area dairy owned by David and Charles Wiens was recognized as Grand Champion of the Dairy Farmers of Manitoba’s Milk Quality awards.

The farm is the first robotic dairy in the province to win such high honours and achieved an average somatic cell count (SCC) of under 57,000.

In the spring of 2022 Skyline Dairy upgraded its operation to four DeLaval VMS V300 units moving from the VMS Classic robots they had been using since 2008.

David Wiens says they have a continual focus on the details and improvements needed for the cows, from their diet, to comfort and environment.

Skyline Dairy’s herdsman Doug Priest says building an excellent farm reputation required a multi-pronged approach.

"We began with reducing mastitis treatment, and as that got better, so did our [milk] quality. We also switched our standard operating procedures to include pre-and post-dip rather than just post-dip and saw sustained improvements. Plus, a new bedding system of finer straw helped improve animal health and environment."

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Video: 2026 T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science - Dan Weary

T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science: "Using science to assess and improve the welfare of dairy cattle"

Dan Weary is a Professor at the University of British Columbia. Dan did his BSc and MSc at McGill and Doctorate at Oxford before co-founding UBC’s Animal Welfare Program where he now co-directs this active research group. His research focuses on understanding the perspectives of animals and applying these insights to develop methods of assessing animal welfare and improving the lives of animals. His work has helped drive changes in practices (including the adoption of higher milk rations for calves and pain management for disbudding) and housing methods (including the adoption of social housing for pre-weaned calves). He also studies cow comfort and lameness, social interactions among cows, and interactions between cows, human handlers and technologies like automated millking systems that are increasingly used on farms. His presentation will outline key questions in cattle welfare, highlight recent UBC research addressing them, and showcase innovative methods for improving the lives of cattle and their caretakers.