Dorrich Dairy, located just southwest of Glenwood, hosted the Glenwood Rotary Club last Tuesday to provide information about the local dairy operation’s automated milking system.

Dorrich Dairy installed its fully automated milking system in October of 2019, a move that proved valuable when the pandemic hit the world, nation and Minnesota in 2022.

The Vold family operation was incorporated as Dorrich Dairy in 1994, named after Dorothy and Richard Vold who both “retired” but, Richard still works on the family dairy operation.  “Always put your wife first,” Richard Vold said with a smile as Rotarians watched from an observation room as cows milked themselves with the help of a Lely robotic milking machines.  

Richard said the operation went from milking 24 cows in 1962 “to what you see today.”

Richard and Dorothy’s sons, Brad and Greg Vold, along with Brad’s wife, Suzanne Vold, are the main operators of the Dorrich Dairy now.  The Vold family has been in the dairy business here since 1898 and Brad and Greg are the fourth generation of the family to operate the business.

Before installing the seven-station automated milking machines, the Volds operated a milking parlor.  The 500-cow operation at one time required the Volds and five full-time people working six to seven-hour shifts, according to Brad Vold.  He said the operation struggled with retaining good, dependable people and was using immigrant labor before it went fully automated.

The milking now is done with Lely robotic milking machines and the cows milk themselves whenever they are ready to milk 24 hours per day, seven days per week.  

The technology installed also provides the Volds with valuable up-to-date data on each cow, its production and other important data.

Currently, Dorrich Dairy is operated by the Volds, the robots, two part-time, and one full-time employee, Steve Czech, who’s been employed at the dairy for 27 years.

In addition to the milking operation, the Volds work 600-plus acres of land.

Each day a Land-O-Lakes milk truck stops at Dorrich Dairy and hauls the milk to the Melrose Dairy Protein plant in Melrose for processing.