Joanna Guza talked with Sarah Mills-Lloyd, agri-business and science technology instructor and the department chair for agriculture at Fox Valley Technical College, about the new Dairy Automation program that starts this August.
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APPLETON, WI – Fox Valley Technical College will be the first in the Wisconsin Technical College System to offer a degree in Dairy Automation. The program is currently accepting applications and is set to begin in August 2023. This program will train individuals for the fast-growing automated milking industry. Details on the program can be found here. 
Students will gain cross-functional, hands-on expertise in agriculture and automation through courses in agriculture, electronics, computers, programming, robots, sensors and more. The Dairy Automation program will open doors to a variety of agriculture automation careers. Classes from a variety of fields, paired with experiences at FVTC’s partner farms, will provide the perfect combination to meet employers’ needs and students’ interests.
The program also offers a unique, newly designed Spanish Language and Culture for Dairy course which provides language skills and cultural understanding to communicate confidently with Spanish speakers on the farm.
“Technological advances are bringing change to a great number of industries, and the agriculture industry is no exception,” notes Dr. Sarah Mills-Lloyd, department chair of Agriculture at FVTC. “As automation in the agriculture industry is becoming more common, employers are also facing employee shortages necessitating the educational offering.”
Fox Valley Technical College is excited to add this new, innovative program to its already large offering of diverse programs in the agriculture field.
Fox Valley Technical College, part of the Wisconsin Technical College System, offers more than 250 associate degree, technical diploma and other certificate programs. It serves more than 45,000 individuals annually — more than any other technical college in the state.
