MILKING MEMORIES

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Local News

June 12, 2019 - 11:02 AM

Iolans Thatcher Mueller, from left, Leah Mueller and Natalie Mueller squeeze bags of a sugar-milk mixture surrounded by ice and rock salt to create homemade ice cream Tuesday.

It used to be that Elsie the Cow would let down her milk to only those she liked.

Today, that ?person? may be a robot. And sadly, or not, Elsie could care less, and in fact, prefers the robotic interaction, which proves less stressful.

From milking by hand in the 1920s to the dawn of robot milking machines, dairy has been an important industry in the local region. 

Kansas ranks 16th in milk production in the United States, Stephanie Eckroat, executive director of the Kansas Dairy Association and Kansas Dairy Commission, told a crowd of about 25 gathered to hear a program on the dairy industry at the Iola Public Library Tuesday. The industry contributes about $1.3 billion annually to the state?s economy.

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