If someone asked you to lift 170t of steel and rubber, would you use your two hands or just the one? This was the question posed by Padraig O’Connor from Teagasc at the Milking Smarter event in Mallow on Thursday.
Padraig said the average weight of a cluster in Ireland is 3kg and that most farmers use the same hand to attach clusters. This means they are using their other arm to lift the cluster.
If we asked a machine to do that, it would be banjaxed in no time
Over the course of a week, a farmer milking 100 cows would lift over 3.5t, even if they had two days off. Over the course of a year, the farmer would lift 170t.
“All that weight is put on one arm and one side of the body. If we asked a machine to do that, it would be banjaxed in no time,” Padraig said.
Padraig O'Connor demonstrating the correct way to attach clusters.
He was encouraging farmers to switch hands when attaching clusters. He said he feels he’s losing the battle as most farmers continue to use just the one arm.
He said farmers should hold the cluster in the hand closer to the front of the parlour when they are putting it on the cow, and attach the cups with the other hand.
Denis Guirey, milk quality adviser with Dairygold, speaking about chlorine-free cleaning protocols.
“You’re doing it right on one side, so it’s really only on the other side that you need change your habits. It takes time to get used to it but when you do you won’t look back. The trick is to focus on picking up the cluster with the hand that you need to hold the cluster with,” Padraig said.
Also speaking at the event was Denis Guiry from Dairygold. He said farmers should switch to using chlorine-free detergents on their bulk tanks.
Jim Dockery from Farm Relief Services talking about cow flow on dairy farms.
Tom Ryan, buildings consultant, went through energy use on dairy farms, while Jim Dockery from Farm Relief Services spoke about the importance of cow flow. He said farmers really need to go down on their hands and knees and see and feel things from a cow’s perspective.
The event was held on the farm of Conor Fitzpatrick who milks 160 cows in a 20-unit parlour on a fine farm overlooking Mallow in Co Cork.
Read more
Milking smarter, not harder in Waterford
Watch: take-home messages from the Dairy Day Skills Hub
If someone asked you to lift 170t of steel and rubber, would you use your two hands or just the one? This was the question posed by Padraig O’Connor from Teagasc at the Milking Smarter event in Mallow on Thursday.
Padraig said the average weight of a cluster in Ireland is 3kg and that most farmers use the same hand to attach clusters. This means they are using their other arm to lift the cluster.
If we asked a machine to do that, it would be banjaxed in no time
Over the course of a week, a farmer milking 100 cows would lift over 3.5t, even if they had two days off. Over the course of a year, the farmer would lift 170t.
“All that weight is put on one arm and one side of the body. If we asked a machine to do that, it would be banjaxed in no time,” Padraig said.
Padraig O'Connor demonstrating the correct way to attach clusters.
He was encouraging farmers to switch hands when attaching clusters. He said he feels he’s losing the battle as most farmers continue to use just the one arm.
He said farmers should hold the cluster in the hand closer to the front of the parlour when they are putting it on the cow, and attach the cups with the other hand.
Denis Guirey, milk quality adviser with Dairygold, speaking about chlorine-free cleaning protocols.
“You’re doing it right on one side, so it’s really only on the other side that you need change your habits. It takes time to get used to it but when you do you won’t look back. The trick is to focus on picking up the cluster with the hand that you need to hold the cluster with,” Padraig said.
Also speaking at the event was Denis Guiry from Dairygold. He said farmers should switch to using chlorine-free detergents on their bulk tanks.
Jim Dockery from Farm Relief Services talking about cow flow on dairy farms.
Tom Ryan, buildings consultant, went through energy use on dairy farms, while Jim Dockery from Farm Relief Services spoke about the importance of cow flow. He said farmers really need to go down on their hands and knees and see and feel things from a cow’s perspective.
The event was held on the farm of Conor Fitzpatrick who milks 160 cows in a 20-unit parlour on a fine farm overlooking Mallow in Co Cork.
Read more
Milking smarter, not harder in Waterford
Watch: take-home messages from the Dairy Day Skills Hub
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