The Mystery of the Milking Robots (2017)

Directed by: Vuk Janic | 83 minutes | documentary

Although milk cartons and packaging of other types of dairy products often still show idyllic pictures of cows frolicking happily in the meadow, in reality that image usually has little in common with industrial milk production that has become commonplace in the Netherlands (and a large part of Western Europe). The combination of an ever-expanding (world) population and an insatiable hunger for meat and dairy can no longer be satisfied in the Western world with traditional forms of livestock farming.

‘The mystery of the milking robots’ shows the practices that degrading people and animals can lead to the increase in scale and commercialization of the agricultural sector. The film focuses on the tragic story of dairy farmer Johan van Rijthoven. Johan is still an old-fashioned farmer in character and outlook, someone who has a bond with his cows and who likes to milk the animals by hand. At the insistence of Rabobank, however, he started working with milking robots. These should make the milking process easier and more efficient. Initially, that promise also seemed to be fulfilled, but then the misery started. The cows no longer dared to enter the machines and were therefore no longer optimally milked. The result: stress for humans and cows, loss of income (which ultimately leads to a loss of hundreds of tons) and an imminent burnout for farmer Johan. The suppliers of the milking robots, DeLaval and Coppens, have been thwarting ever since: they refuse to take responsibility for the problem and engage in a grueling legal battle with Johan.

On the one hand, the film sheds light on the search for causes for the mismatch between milking robot and cow. There are both credible theories, such as cows’ feelings of fear due to leakage current, and more ethereal fantasies presented by an alternative therapist. Examples of the latter include negative source energies and evil entities that populate the land surrounding the farm. Yet the emphasis is ultimately mainly on human drama.

At its heart, The Mystery of the Milking Robots is the tragedy-ruled tale of a largely powerless individual’s struggle for survival against the corporate machine backed by big business. In painting this unfair confrontation between David and Goliath, director Vuk Janić clearly sides with farmer Johan. Not entirely illogical, by the way, because the suppliers of the milking robots show themselves from their worst side. We only hear their views and arguments in court (the law in our society type is all too often an instrument of the powerful and rich), delivered by lawyers with a dose of cynicism, coldness and calculation that shows that the concept of humanity is often a constitutes a contradiction in terms. Through his attention to detail, Janić makes human drama tangible and tangible for the viewer. Sometimes the director seems a bit sucked into the narrowing of vision caused by all the misery that Johan suffers, but that does not detract from the powerful message of this documentary.

‘The mystery of the milking robots’ shows on a micro scale what can happen if the technology fails and you as an individual dairy farmer are at the mercy of the big business represented by corporations and banks. The film is not always completely in balance (the space that is reserved for the ‘energetic coach’, for example, diminishes the overall credibility), but at the same time it is a convincing, emotional plea for a return to a more sustainable, above all animal and people-friendly way of producing food.