339 | From the Barn to the Board Room: Nathan Moroney on Technology, Trials and Dairy Farming in Texas
On the Uplevel Dairy Podcast, Peggy Coffeen visits Del Rio Dairy in Friona, Texas, and interviews owner Nathan Moroney about how technology and expansion are reshaping modern dairying. Moroney describes a major expansion from a 3,500-cow double-45 parallel parlor to a 90-stall rotary with automated prep and post robots, sort gates, and collars, delivering significant labor savings and higher milking throughput.
He recounts being one of the first herds to experience what became known as "bird flu" before the issue was identified through coordinated efforts with extension. He explains the Saudi-style barn system, manure handling that evolved into a digester started in 2021, water constraints driving efficiency and potential forage shifts, and the potential opportunities for integrating more AI in milking and feed management.
Moroney also discusses regional processing growth, his new DFA corporate board role, and the need for workable labor policy reform.
This Episode is Brought to you by the Milc Group
Milc Group is a dairy software company that brings real-time, actionable data to dairy farms across the world. They are dedicated to revolutionizing the dairy industry with their user-friendly cloud-based software. ONE™ by Milc Group is our all-in-one app that brings together all the important aspects of your dairy together in one place. With products such as feed and animal management software, people training, dairy facility monitoring, and scale management, Milc Group is committed to providing producers with tools they need to succeed.
02:13 Rotary Expansion Automation
04:52 Bird Flu Ground Zero
11:34 Saudi Barn Workflow
14:09 Digester Renewables Economics
15:23 Next Efficiency AI Upgrades
19:58 One Feed Program Spotlight
20:28 Mobile App Workflow
21:04 Water Risk Planning
22:01 Reusing Water Efficiently
23:01 Alternative Forages Ahead
23:41 Texas Dairy Processing Boom
24:37 Milk Hauling Distance
24:46 Joining the DFA Board
26:15 National Dairy Outlook
28:55 Marketing and Data Shifts
29:57 From City to Dairyman
32:19 Traits Built by Dairy
35:52 Labor Reform Needs
