Jordan Matthews stands next to showers in the milking parlor at Rosy-Lane, as part of a different study in collaboration with Van Os. Photo by Michael P. King/UW-Madison CALS.
Jordan Matthews
Partner, Rosy-Lane Holsteins, Watertown, Wis.
Project title: “Mooving Cows: An innovative tool for diverse audiences to learn dairy cow handling practices”
What is the history of Rosy-Lane Holsteins?
Lloyd Arthur Holterman Sr. and wife Rosemarie purchased the homestead at W3855 Ebenezer Drive in 1965 and the herd size grew gradually to a peak of 80 milking cows. Throughout most of the time Lloyd Sr. milked at Rosy-Lane, he had 60 milking cows and 70 heifers. Beginning in the late 80’s, the farm transitioned to Lloyd Jr. and Daphne.
Since that time, new technology and farming practices have been implemented focusing on cow comfort, profitability, and sustainability. This has allowed the farm to grow both in size and impact to the local community, the dairy community, and the lives of those who work there.
In 1999, Tim Strobel became a partner, in 2013, I became a partner, and in 2024, Sam Peetz became a partner as well. I started as a sophomore in high school from a non-ag background and Lloyd and Daphne helped drive my passion in dairy through initially feeding calves part time. I am also an alumni of UW–Madison with a degree in dairy science.
Why did you want to get involved with this project?
Since Jennifer Van Os became part of the faculty at UW–Madison, we have collaborated on a few projects together. I think the way we see the industry is similar, so it has been easy to jump on and help with many of her projects!
What was the game development process like?
It started out with just conversations. A lot of questions and answers coming from both sides. Where is there a need and how do we get there? Those were the big two questions, then just brainstorming happened from there. I would give the credit to Jennifer and her team. I recall mostly giving feedback after they had developed something or we would work together to pick apart an idea for aspects of the game. The process took about a year of back and forth like this.
Did you have any employees test it out with you? What was that like?
We had quite a few of our team members try it out. There was a lot of laughter and smiling while playing it. I think initially they did consider it a game and not connect quite clearly of how it would relate to what they were doing, because of how fun it is. After the fact when we would talk through what they did, how they scored, etc., we would get the reactions and the “ah ha” moments of how that relates to moving cows and safety on farm.
Why do you think a game like Mooving Cows is needed?
People learn in various ways. We have continually struggled to find content to help connect the dots on cattle flight zones and animal handling, especially when bringing on new members to our team. We don’t necessarily want to go into a pen to practice without any training beforehand. This gives us a chance with a tool (phone or tablet) that most people are on anyway, to get some high quality training accomplished. From that point we have a baseline and can go practice safely with real animals.
How have you used the game since its release?
We have had most team members try it again since its release and had a fun little competition to see who would get the highest score. We will be moving forward in our on-boarding with needing to have the ‘completed certificate’ from the game as part of our professional training for team members.
What is your advice for other farmers looking for animal handling training for their team? Should they use the game?
If you want to strive for professionalism and safety with your team, then it’s a no-brainer to have it included in your training.
Why does Rosy-Lane participate in University research?
Part of our mission states “to utilize and experiment with profitable and environmentally-sound technologies for plants and animals.” Nearly every experiment done by the University is for this reason. If we want to continue to operate as a best-in-class farm, working hand-in-hand with the experts setting the standards has helped us accomplish our mission.
