Robotic Dairy Farm Visits in Turkey: HCM Farm and Malkoç Farm

Turkey is not typically associated with advanced dairy farming technology. 
The country's agricultural identity is more often connected to its 
extraordinary diversity of crops — hazelnuts, figs, apricots, tea, 
tobacco, and the olive oil of the Aegean coast — than to the 
technologically sophisticated livestock operations that define 
dairy farming in the Netherlands or Germany.

But Turkish dairy farming has been transforming rapidly over the past 
two decades. A new generation of Turkish farmers, educated in 
agricultural science and exposed to the best practices of European 
dairy farming, has been investing in modern systems — genetic 
improvement, precision nutrition, health monitoring, and increasingly, 
robotic milking technology.

The result is a growing number of Turkish dairy farms that rival 
the best European operations in terms of management sophistication, 
productivity, and animal welfare — while retaining the specific 
character that comes from Turkish landscapes, climates, and 
agricultural traditions.

Farmiyo features two of these farms — HCM Farm in the Ege region 
and Malkoç Farm — offering guided visits that give visitors a 
direct encounter with what modern Turkish dairy farming looks like.

HCM FARM — ROBOTIC DAIRY IN THE EGE REGION

HCM Farm is located in Balıkesir, Bigadiç — in the Ege region 
of western Turkey, a landscape of rolling hills, olive groves, 
and fertile agricultural land that has been farmed since antiquity.

The farm is managed by Hüseyin Cüneyt Menkü, and it operates 
two robotic milking systems with a herd of approximately 110 
milking cows — making it one of the most technologically 
advanced dairy operations in the region.

The combination of robotic milking and automated feeding 
at HCM Farm reflects a management philosophy built around 
precision and animal welfare. The cows milk themselves 
voluntarily, at the times that suit their individual 
physiology rather than a schedule imposed by human 
convenience. The automated feeding system ensures 
that each cow receives the nutritional profile appropriate 
to her production stage and health status — a level of 
individual attention that would be impossible to deliver 
manually across a herd of this size.

What makes HCM Farm particularly interesting as a visit 
destination is the context it provides. This is not a 
Dutch or German farm that has been farming with robotics 
for twenty years. This is a Turkish farmer who has made 
a deliberate choice to invest in the most advanced 
available technology and to manage his herd to a 
standard that competes with the best operations in Europe.

Understanding why he made that choice, how he manages 
the transition, and what the technology looks like in 
a Turkish farming context is genuinely illuminating — 
both for people who know a great deal about dairy 
farming and for those who are encountering it for 
the first time.

During the guided visit at HCM Farm, Hüseyin walks 
visitors through the farm, explains the robotic milking 
and automated feeding systems, and discusses the 
daily management of the herd — herd health monitoring, 
data-driven decision making, and the practical realities 
of running a high-technology dairy operation in western Turkey.

You will see the milking robots in operation, watch 
the automated feeding system function, and gain insight 
into how data collected by the technology is used 
to manage individual animals within the herd. Hüseyin 
is knowledgeable, direct, and genuinely interested 
in sharing what he has learned — both the successes 
and the challenges of managing a robotic dairy 
operation in the Turkish agricultural context.

MALKOÇ FARM — ROBOTIC DAIRY IN TURKEY

Malkoç Farm is a second Turkish robotic dairy operation 
available through Farmiyo — offering a complementary 
perspective on how advanced dairy technology is 
being adopted and implemented in Turkey.

Like HCM Farm, Malkoç Farm uses robotic milking 
as the foundation of its dairy operation — a 
commitment to voluntary milking that prioritizes 
cow welfare and the individual monitoring that 
continuous automatic milking enables.

The visit at Malkoç Farm gives visitors a guided 
introduction to the operation — the herd, the 
technology, the management approach, and the 
reasoning behind the farming decisions that shape 
the farm's character and performance.

Visiting two different Turkish robotic dairy farms 
provides a more complete picture of how this 
technology is being adopted across Turkish dairy 
farming — showing both the consistency of the 
technology itself and the variation in how different 
farmers implement and adapt it to their specific 
circumstances.

TURKISH DAIRY FARMING IN CONTEXT

Turkey's dairy industry has undergone remarkable 
change in recent decades. In the 1990s, Turkish 
dairy farming was dominated by small family 
operations with low-yielding local cattle breeds 
and limited access to modern management practices. 
The industry was fragmented, productivity was low, 
and quality was inconsistent.

The transformation since then has been substantial. 
Government investment in agricultural education 
and genetic improvement programs, combined with 
the exposure of a new generation of farmers to 
European and American dairy practices, has driven 
a rapid modernization of the sector.

The adoption of high-yielding Holstein-Friesian 
genetics across much of the industry raised 
average productivity dramatically. The introduction 
of total mixed ration feeding — combining all 
nutritional components into a single balanced 
ration — replaced the traditional hay and grain 
approach and allowed nutritional management 
to be optimised for production performance.

Robotic milking represents the most recent and 
most sophisticated layer of this modernization. 
Farms like HCM Farm and Malkoç Farm are at the 
leading edge of this process — demonstrating 
what Turkish dairy farming can achieve when 
the best available management practices and 
technology are applied with precision and commitment.

THE EGE REGION AS AN AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPE

The Ege region of western Turkey — where HCM Farm 
is located — is one of the most agriculturally 
significant areas of the country.

The landscape is Mediterranean in character — 
warm, dry summers, mild wet winters, fertile 
river valleys and rolling hills covered in 
olive groves, vineyards, and agricultural land 
that produces an extraordinary range of crops. 
The area around Balıkesir and Bigadiç is 
traditionally strong in both crop and livestock 
farming — a combination that reflects the 
productivity of this specific landscape.

Understanding the agricultural context of the 
region — the crops grown alongside the dairy 
farms, the landscape that shapes the farming 
systems, and the long tradition of mixed 
agriculture in this part of Turkey — adds 
depth to the farm visit and places the 
robotic dairy technology in a broader context 
that is specific to this place.

WHO THESE VISITS ARE FOR

Both the HCM Farm and Malkoç Farm visits 
work well for dairy professionals and 
agricultural students interested in how 
robotic milking technology is being 
implemented in a non-European context. 
For food industry professionals interested 
in Turkish dairy farming and its trajectory. 
For curious travelers visiting western Turkey 
who want to understand the agricultural 
landscape beyond its surface appearance. 
And for anyone interested in how modern 
technology is transforming traditional 
farming systems in one of the world's 
most agriculturally diverse countries.

Both visits are conducted in Turkish and 
English, making them accessible to 
international visitors.

WHAT'S INCLUDED

- Guided visit to a robotic dairy farm
- Introduction to robotic milking and automated feeding systems
- Explanation of herd management and daily farm operations
- Live observation of robotic milking
- Direct interaction with the farmer
- Time for questions and discussion

Duration: Approximately 3 hours
Start time: 10:00
Group size: Minimum 4, maximum 14 participants
Languages: Turkish and English
Location: Turkey

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Comfortable outdoor clothing and footwear are 
recommended for both farm visits. The visits 
take place in farm buildings and outdoors. 
Exact location and meeting point details 
are provided after booking.

BOOK THE EXPERIENCE

Both HCM Farm and Malkoç Farm visits are 
available through Farmiyo — a platform 
connecting travelers with authentic farm 
and food experiences across Europe and beyond.

Book a robotic dairy farm visit in Turkey → farmiyo.com