New year dairy management: time to prepare for the new season

The milking machine is probably the most important machine on the farm; without it functioning correctly, you won’t be able to harvest milk correctly.

It is one of the few machines that comes in contact with the cow, so it’s an added reason to make sure that it’s working correctly. Now is the time to arrange for it to be serviced.

The important thing to watch for when getting the machine serviced is vacuum, pulsation and liners. Vacuum should be a maximum 48kpa. Higher vacuum than this can cause teat-end damage. Teat-end damage is one of the main causes of mastitis.

The pulsation ratio should be 65:35 with a rest phase of greater than 20 milliseconds.

Over time, liners lose their shape which results in longer milking times. These should be changed every 2,000 milkings and at the start of every new season.

The other thing to watch for are rubber bends and rubber pipes. Bacteria can harbour in cracks and crevices in rubber ware and these bugs can release back into the milk during milking, causing elevated TBC levels. These should be checked for quality and changed accordingly. Short pulse tubes should also be changed every two years.

The other thing that should be done is to check meal feeders. These should be calibrated as settings can change over time. At the Royal Ulster Winter Fair recently there was a demonstration looking at the actual versus the target feed rates of meal feeders. The actual feed rate varied from +40% to -60% of the target feed rate.

The bulk tank should be checked also. Sometimes seals in motors can deteriorate and need to be replaced.

With all of these checks and services done, the milking machine and milking parlour will be ready for the 2020 season.

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