Balzers, robots to educate public on dairy

It’s not difficult to see how technology has invaded the dairy operation of the Balzer family near Medford. For nearly a decade, the family’s cows have been milked by robots.

The Balzers will open their farm to visitors Saturday morning to see the robots and other parts of their dairy operation during the annual Steele County Breakfast on the Farm. As part of June Dairy Month, the event offers families to learn about the dairy industry. The event takes place from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The operation features two robots named after owners Rick and Cathy. Of the 12 dairy farms left in Steele County, the Balzers have the only robotic operation. The robots are responsible for milking about 110 cows several times each day, which, unlike the early years, requires very little to no physical labor from the Balzers.

“The robots give us so much greater flexibility to do other farm work,” said Rick Balzer, who is continuing the family operation that started with his father, Lawrence, in 1949.

The Balzers said they decided to expand with the robotic milkers after their son, Scott, joined the operation in 2009. They are hopeful to keep the dairy tradition alive with their 3-year-old grandson, Brantley, possibly becoming the fourth generation to take over.

For Rick, milking is so much easier than the physical grind he endured for years. He said his hip replacement is a direct result of milking throughout his lifetime. Now family members hardly need to even be in the milking parlor as the cows line up for the robots to milk them. Rick and Scott keep tabs on everything on their smart phones with video and other security measures built into the apps.

“We’re not wearing out knees and hips any longer,” Rick said about the robots. He added the robotic milkers have made things so much more efficient within their operation.

While the robots will be the center focus of Saturday’s event, there are also many other activities planned. They include a waffle breakfast, cow-themed bouncy houses, kiddie train, petting zoo, corn pit and many other kids activities.

Princess Kay of the Milky Way, along with the seven dairy princesses from Steele County, will attend the breakfast event.

Bus transportation is available for no charge from the Steele County Fairgrounds in Owatonna and the parking lot of Medford High School. About 1,200 people are expected to attend the breakfast.

This will be the fifth time the Balzers have hosted the dairy promotion dating back to 1998. In 2013, they held a supper on the farm. They also had the breakfast events in 2018 and 2019.

For the Balzers, hosting groups hasn’t only been limited to the June dairy promotions. They have also hosted other community groups this spring including 115 homeschool kids, high school ag classes and business leaders from the Owatonna Chamber of Commerce.

“We want to stay on good terms with these people who buy our products, so it’s nice to show them what goes into producing milk,” said Cathy, adding she is most excited to see people interested in what the farm does.