MILKING MACHINE MAINTENANCE IMPACTS UDDER HEALTH
Fall is here, and the effects of summer heat stress are starting to wear off. Along with them, somatic cell count (SCC) should decrease. Not seeing this trend on your dairy? When was the last time you checked the settings of each milking unit in the parlor or the milking equipment itself? Before coming to Miner Institute I was involved in parlor maintenance on the dairy where I worked. This was something that I learned to enjoy and I saw the impact that it had on the dairy. Machine settings such as vacuum level, critical milk flow for automatic cluster removal, pulsation ratio, and pulsation frequency strongly influence milking time, milk yield, and udder health (Gasparik et al., 2018).
Pulsation ratio directly affects milk flow and milking time. Most manufacturers set the pulsation ratio to a relatively tight range, such as 60:40 (Gasparik et al., 2018). The primary purpose of pulsation is to maintain a high rate of milk flow from the teat within each cycle of pulsation, reduce the negative effects of congestion on the teat, reduce the rate of new mastitis infections, and stimulate milk ejection (Mein et al., 2003). Even a slight change in pulsation ratio, such as a ratio of 67:33, can have a positive effect on udder health and reduce SCC while milking time was prolonged and automatic cluster removal was decreased from a rate of 0.85 to 0.65 kg/min, allowing for less residual milk (Gasparik et al., 2018).
Additionally, the liner used in the machine can have a large influence on milking characteristics. Some physical features to consider when choosing a liner include the type of rubber and composition of the liner, the method of construction, barrel size, liner length, liner elongation and mounting tension, and stiffness of the liner mouthpiece. Most of these features can be found in the manufacturer's documentation or through the supplier. The composition of the liner mainly influences how long it will last and the number of milkings it can withstand, while the method of construction refers to a one-piece or two-piece liner and ease of assembly (Mein et al., 2003). Furthermore, the age of the liner can decrease its tension, resulting in more pressure applied to the teat during milking; mouthpiece lip deflection can increase, which impacts the vacuum pressure, liner slippage, and teat tissue congestion. Peak flow milk rate may be reduced by 0.5 kg/min and average milk flow rate by 0.2 kg/min (Davis et al., 2000;2001). Portable milk flow meters can be used for peak flow rate detection; now most parlors equipped with electronic milk flow meters allow for every milking to be recorded. This allows for precise measurements of two-minute milk yield and total milk yield to detect bimodality in the cow (Wieland and Sipka, 2023).
Overall, milking equipment maintenance is one of the most important factors of an udder health program and in maintaining a quality product, milk. Through routine management of reviewing machine settings and the condition of the equipment, you can identify issues that may arise early and support efficient milk removal.
— Victoria Blaney
