Wooden goats on the Waikato Milking Systems stand at Fieldays are used to demonstration Waikato Milking System’s dairy technology.

A small herd of 12 New Zealand dairy cows will be among the exhibits at the 50^th World Dairy Expo in Madison Wisconsin in October – but even though they will be ‘milked’ they won’t need feeding or grooming.

That’s because the full-size Jersey-look-alikes are wooden, prefabricated cows, used by Waikato Milking Systems to demonstrate their milking parlour technology.

The cows, and a ‘herd’ of 20 wooden goats, where among the star attractions on the company’s stand at the Mystery Creek Fieldays where even children were encouraged to try putting cups on the cows.

Among them was 10-year-old Keaton Hester, who was fascinated by the cows and the milking system explained to him by Waikato Milking Systems Otago/ Southland sales manager Diego Brandoa Diego Brandoa.

Waikato Milking Systems Otago/ Southland sales manager Diego Brandoa helps 10-year-old Keaton Hester fit cups to a wooden cow at Fieldays.

Keaton says he doesn’t want to be a farmer, but instead an engineer, perhaps involved in designing and building systems to make farming more efficient.

It’s not the first time Waikato Milking Systems has used it’s model cows, made of marine plywood, on its stands; in the past a herd of ‘Friesians’ has been sent to China.

The World Dairy Expo, which began in 1967, is billed as “a forum for dairy producers, companies, organisations and other dairy enthusiasts to come together to compete, and to exchange ideas, knowledge, technology and commerce” and is on October 4-8 this year.