NEW DELHI, Jan. 14 -- Bradley Elkins, dressed for tromping through mud and manure in calf-high boots, looks the part of an old-school dairy farmer as he goes through his routine on a cold January day at Knob View Dairy in Smiths Grove.

Looks can be deceiving.

According to the reports published in bgdailynews.com Elkins, a fourth-generation dairyman, is one cowpoke who these days does his poking at touchscreens on an operation that would be more at home on an episode of "Star Trek" than on the set of "Green Acres."

A typical day for Elkins might involve checking a computer report to get data on how production is going, troubleshooting a robot or making sure a device called a Juno does its job of pushing grain so it's within reach of the 4...