VOA慢速英语 让机器人为奶牛挤奶

　　The automated system also measures the temperature and color of freshly produced milk. Milk is thrown away if it does not pass the tests.

　　Cows need about two to four weeks to learn to use the robotic milking systems. Once trained, the cows no longer require human assistance, unless something goes wrong. The system is programmed to notify the farmer if there is a problem.

　　Karen Plaut heads the Department of Animal Science at Michigan State University. Professor Plaut believes the systems will appeal especially to the next generation of farmers. She means young people who are more interested in technology and less interested in working all the time on the farm. Still, she says the price of robotic milking systems will continue to limit their use.

　　Doug and Tina Suhr have more than one hundred milking cows on their family farm. Last year it became the fourth farm in southeast Minnesota to get a robotic milking system. A recent story in a local agricultural newspaper said the first robot cost one hundred seventy-five thousand dollars. The second cost one hundred fifty thousand.

060s.com