The results of the Irish Farmers Journal annual farm input cost survey for prices of products relating to the milking parlour and milk hygiene can be seen in Tables 1 to 8. This survey is completed by farmers from across the country. Like all agricultural inputs, individual prices will depend on credit terms, group and bulk discounts etc. To properly compare the costs of some products, the dilution rate must be considered.

DETERGENTS

David Gleeson in Teagasc is trying to get farmers to purchase detergents based on the working solution, as he suggests this is more important than price (Tables 1 to 4), especially if using with cold water. He says: “The cheapest product may end up with the lowest working solution. Products with lower working solutions generally have lower concentrations of sodium hydroxide and hypochlorite, and are cheaper to make. Check the working solution in the Teagasc recommended list and relate it to retail price.”

DESCALERS

Table 3 shows the products and prices of descalers. A descaler should be used at least once a week if using a detergent wash. This will remove any residual material in milk lines which could potentially harbour bacteria.

TEAT SPRAYS

Teat spraying is often discussed at discussion group meetings and many dairy farmers don’t even know what product they are using. Many farmers change the product they are using when a different salesperson arrives in the yard offering a deal on bulk purchase. Some teat spray products don’t even say, or at least leave it very vague as to what is the main ingredient. The three main active ingredients are iodine, chlorohexidine and lactic acid. Iodine has traditionally been the most popular and is described by most milk quality experts as being very good at killing bacteria and the various different bugs on cows’ teats.

MASTITIS TUBES

Dry cow tubes, milking cow tubes and teat sealer all showed a big price range (Tables 5 to 7). The variation in active ingredients partly explains this. Some tubes contain up to three different antibiotics and so are more ‘heavy duty’.