Hawkeye REC presents rebate check to Iowa's Dairy Center at NICC Calmar

(Left to right): NICC dairy science instructor Dave Lawstuen; Hawkeye REC representative Pat Boyle; Northeast Iowa Dairy Foundation president Phil Hemesath; and Iowa's Dairy Center coordinator Megan Kregel.

Hawkeye Rural Electric Cooperative has presented a rebate check for $3,777.17 to the Northeast Iowa Dairy Foundation for the energy efficient devices that were installed in the new robotics milking system addition at Iowa's Dairy Center.

Completed and installed in winter 2013, the advanced robotic milking system at Iowa's Dairy Center, located just south of the NICC Calmar campus, will teach students, consumers, youth and area dairy producers about advancements in dairy science. A new barn addition on the site was constructed to accommodate the technology and provides enhanced stall conditions for the dairy herd, including improved ventilation and bedding with sand for animal comfort.