Deflation and demographics have been a death blow to the Japanese dairy industry. Milk production is at a generational low as costs have escalated without attendant price increases. Tech-savvy millennials have abandoned the industry for careers elsewhere. Or at least that has been the story. Sales of milking robots are now soaring, redefining a highly fragmented industry. The largest automated milking factory in Asia can be found in Hokkaido. For context, a single robot can milk as many as 60 cows a day. Cheap money has made the $200,000 units affordable, while Japanese government programs amplify butter and cheese production. One side benefit of automation is that these robots gather manure and deposit it in a furnace to generate electricity. The downside may be limited to the cost of redesigning the barn. ■
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