On our last morning in Israel, we traveled down the road to the next Moshav, Avnei Etan, where we visited a robotic cow shed (refet)-- one of only a few such sheds in Israel.
The cows are conditioned to enter the milking area where a robotic milking machine cleans their udders, milks them, analyzes the milk and dispenses a special food to reinforce the cow's behavior when she needs to be milked. Each cow wears a device close to her jaw that monitors chewing activity which correlates with milk production, health of the cow's mouth and teeth. A laser device identifies each cow by number and all data contribute to a complete profile of each cow, including how many times each day she has come to be milked. 
The technology is fascinating and enlightening. We were given the opportunity to feed the young calves and at the end of the tour we were rewarded with fresh chocolate milk!
After an afternoon trip to Tiberius to buy shoes for Maya and have our last dinner together with her family, we hugged goodbye and sadly left for the airport.
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