Being efficient and hygienic in the parlour during mid-season
With peak milk production coming that bit earlier this year, farmers are focusing on holding solids production and grass quality, but as a lot of time will be spent in the parlour, a good routine to promote hygiene and efficiency must be considered.
Most farmers will be set in their own ways when it comes to milking cows, but as it becomes the main task on the farm over the next few weeks, farmers should question whether there are a few tweaks they can make to improve milking for both the milker and the cows.
We know that cows are creatures of habit, so having every day similar to the previous and the next is essential in order to have the cows at ease.
Having a good milking routine should also be about making life easier for the farmer, as it should promote maximum product quality, safety for milkers and cows, and efficiency in time spent milking.
Parlour routine
It is important to make sure that the milking parlour is ready before the cows are rounded up, to avoid causing any unnecessary stress on the cows waiting to be milked.
A clean milking apron should be used with disposable nitrile gloves to help stop the spread of mastitis during milking. Doing so will also protect against any zoonotic diseases, such as leptospirosis.
Clusters should be attached to clean, dry teats. Some farmers strip each quarter before attaching clusters to check for mastitis and to stimulate milk let-down, but this can be very time-consuming.
Keep a close eye on cows' udders as they come into the parlour and as you are putting clusters on. Strip quarters that you may be sceptical of, and carry out a California mastitis test (CMT) on cows that are off form or have a high temperature.
Keep the pulse and milk tubes on the cow exit side when attaching the cluster, as doing so will allow for quick movement along the pit from one cluster to the other.
Manual cluster removal should happen when there is only a single stream of milk visible in the claw piece, in order to minimise the risk of over-milking.
Avoid causing air blasts when removing – turn off the vacuum by kinking the milk tube or by using the button on the claw piece.
If you have automatic cluster removers (ACRs), ensure that they are in operating order.
Teat spraying or dipping should be done as soon as possible after cluster removal, ensuring at least 10-15ml of the spray is applied evenly, covering all the teats, from top to bottom.
Washing down should commence as soon as the last row of cows have left – having a standard operating procedure in place for both milking and washing down is essential in maintaining a clean, hygienic parlour.
Do not forget that the milker is producing food and that the quality of this food is essential in sustaining and creating markets.
Cow space
Cow flow begins in the paddock or cubicle to the collecting yard, through the parlour and back out to the paddock or cubicles.
Cow flow has a massive impact on milking efficiency and time spent in the parlour and is dictated by: cow roadways; facilities (collecting yard and parlour); and the milker.
Roadways should be about 5m wide for 120 cows, with an extra 0.5m for every 100 cows thereafter.
Roadways need to be wide enough for the number of cows with a good surface, to make sure that there are no pinch points or restrictions along the roadway.
A farmer needs to ensure that the gathering yard can fit all of the herd, typically allowing for 1.52m2/cow, so cows are getting pushed and shoved, causing stress and potentially lameness issues.
Where there is a backing gate in the gathering yard, ensure it is used solely to decrease the size of the gathering yard, rather than forcing cows into the parlour.
It is easy to overlook factors like your milking routine at this time of the year, but as cows are at peak, you want to do everything in your power to make sure they hold that peak – and that comes down to environment, as well as nutrition of course.
You also want to maximise your milk price during the cows' peak and having a high somatic cell count (SCC), total bacteria count (TBC) or thermoduric count is only going to deteriorate the price you receive per litre of product sold.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
6 days ago
- Irish Examiner
How wellbeing festivals have grown more popular in Ireland
Back in 2009, a California-based festival premiered a new kind of experience, placing a traditional festival setting and health offering side-by-side. Wanderlust, set in North Lake Tahoe, curated a lifestyle which offset hedonistic nights with mind-boosting mornings, a combination instantly lauded as one worth following. Fifteen years later, Wanderlust's founders are still offering wellness benefits to the masses today — in the form of Eudemonia Summit, a three-day festival that hosted some 2,750 people in November. However, in lieu of heading for the sandy plains of northern California, revellers instead filled a gargantuan convention centre in West Palm Beach. There, they witnessed hundreds of speakers extol the virtues of cold plunges, regenerative health, and 'human potential'. This kind of event, one centred around feeling well, is catching on — and for good reason. In a society where headlines centre around healthcare, inflation, and war, true connection is hard to come by; feeling well has become elusive, and, something people are willing to pay for. This alchemy has fuelled the rise of the wellness festival — events and destinations promising the keys to self-actualisation. You don't even have to travel to North America to find them. The view from above of last year's Nourish & Flow RestFest Dublin's Wellfest (weekend tickets €100) celebrated its ninth and most successful year in May, with a myriad of performers: Sexual health expert Jenny Keane, plant-based entrepreneur Deliciouslly Ella, and Kardashian trainer Donamatrix among them — detailing the many ways any of us can be well. Further south, Cahir Wellness Festival (€20 for over 16s) launched its inaugural event early in the month to a 2,000-strong crowd following a 10-week run of advertisement by festival organisers Eddie Kendrick, Aaron Wall, Noelle Mulcahy, Paul Kearney, and county councillor Andy Molony. Kendrick, a psychotherapist who also runs The Heat Retreat Sauna, believes the interest is down to a mindset shift: 'The pub was the centre for everything for so long, and as a result, alcoholism was so normalised. 'Now we have an awareness of what that means, and people don't want to feel crap on their days off. They recognise the benefit of doing things that make you feel good. And that recognition is infectious.' The urge for alternative forms of healing is not new. Once considered in perjorative terms such as quackery and shrinks, the desire to seek new means of health and wellbeing has been accelerated by the difficult nature of feeling healthy today; higher food prices, GP appointment queues, anti-vaccination disinformation, and the rise in loneliness all contribute to a system that is resolutely making us unwell. As such, it can even feel necessary to tend to yourself in covert and unestablished ways. And yet, because of the term's vague and expansive nature, 'wellness' as a noun can be difficult to navigate. According to the National Institute of Health, wellness is 'a holistic integration of physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing, fuelling the body, engaging the mind, and nurturing the spirit'. In theory, it encompasses stimulating mind and body work, but can feel co-opted by capitalism to mean anything from juice cleansing to LSD microdosing to skincare to transcendental meditation. Dr Clodagh Campbell. Picture: Brian McEvoy 'For me, wellness is feeling good within ourselves,' Clodagh Campbell, otherwise known as the 'Wellness Psychologist', says. 'It involves methods that make us feel balanced and grounded, like putting boundaries in place, eating food that makes us feel good, or anything that involves protecting our health and peace.' According to the Global Wellness Institute, the wellness industry is currently valued at $6.3 trillion (€5.4tn), with an expectation that it will increase to $9tn (€7.75tn) by 2028. Figures like that would make anyone cynical, even those calling from inside the house. 'There can be a sense of commercialisation of stuff that is kind of sacred, which had a question mark over it for me,' says Michael Ryan, a men's retreat organiser, and yoga and meditation teacher who regularly works with President Michael D Higgins. 'But the more I think about it, I think the people who attend these events are likely to be seeking deeper connection or meaning in their lives, and these events might be a great way to get a taster of what they're searching for.' 'I think the word is a bit loaded,' agrees Wendy Riordan, founder of retreat experience Nourish and Flow. 'As in, you have to look or eat or be a certain way. 'I think that's another layer of stress that we put on ourselves as a society.' Wendy Riordan, founder of Nourish & Flow RestFest Riordan runs Nourish and Flow RestFest (€450-€549, including meals and glamping), a festival-retreat hybrid in its third year. Taking place in Stradbally, Co Laois, a fortnight before Electric Picnic, the event will see 100 women eat together, attend talks, and sleep under the stars to obtain 'true rest'. Riordan credits a desire for connection with the rise in wellness-centric event attendance. She says: 'Hustle culture means we don't know our neighbours, don't have a third space, and any time spent alone is wracked with guilt. In a group setting, you're far more likely to lighten that guilty load.' Our day to day lives are relatively superficial, Ryan agrees, meaning true connection is hard to come by: 'In older cultures, we would have had elders to pass down information to do with wisdom or emotional intelligence, things we don't really get anywhere else. These are a gateway to getting that, in a world that can feel particularly harsh for so many people.' Campbell says: 'We're living such fast-paced lives that make us so stressed and disconnected that there's a yearning to slow down, connect with others and take a breath. And also a yearning to find someone who can help us do that because it's hard to do alone. I meet people all the time who are looking for help and guidance in that space to help them feel less stressed and anxious. There's a yearning for something different, and essentially to feel better, and less alone. 'Ultimately, people are seeking mental wellbeing. A lot of people I work with struggle with self worth, resulting in us being people pleasers. That, I think, lends itself to the psychology of this shift — it's hard to say no to people, but the resentment of constantly people pleasing is tougher still.' Kendrick agrees: 'I think the rushing we do is symptomatic of something deeper, and wellness is a break from that. Before now, particularly in small Irish towns, the only choice to socialise was the pub. Now, events like these give people a choice.' Last but not least, from a commercial perspective, the logistics of organising a traditional music festival are complex and multi-faceted, with any misstep potentially leading to significant issues. Most of these issues can be eradicated when elements like drugs, alcohol. and high insurance costs are removed, meaning that modern festival organisers and owners of the land they lease from are far more likely to pivot to a less hedonistic clientele. With all roads pointing to wellness, rest-filled weekends in lieu of boozy, muddy ones — should we all be redirecting ourselves towards yoga mats and drum circles? Hilary Rose, The Young Offenders actress, podcaster, and co-host of RestFest, suggests we change our mindset when considering it. 'When I was in my 20s, I loved music festivals,' she says. 'Now, I look for ones that make me feel good as opposed to bad. In many ways, too, music festivals were never about who was on the stage; it was the craic in the campsite or the woods afterwards. These kinds of festivals are much the same. We're looking for a community, more than anything else.' Tickets for RestFest are available now from
Agriland
07-06-2025
- Agriland
Being efficient and hygienic in the parlour during mid-season
Most cows will be served by now and a lot of first cuts of silage will be in, meaning that the pit of the parlour will be where most time is spent over the next few weeks. With peak milk production coming that bit earlier this year, farmers are focusing on holding solids production and grass quality, but as a lot of time will be spent in the parlour, a good routine to promote hygiene and efficiency must be considered. Most farmers will be set in their own ways when it comes to milking cows, but as it becomes the main task on the farm over the next few weeks, farmers should question whether there are a few tweaks they can make to improve milking for both the milker and the cows. We know that cows are creatures of habit, so having every day similar to the previous and the next is essential in order to have the cows at ease. Having a good milking routine should also be about making life easier for the farmer, as it should promote maximum product quality, safety for milkers and cows, and efficiency in time spent milking. Parlour routine It is important to make sure that the milking parlour is ready before the cows are rounded up, to avoid causing any unnecessary stress on the cows waiting to be milked. A clean milking apron should be used with disposable nitrile gloves to help stop the spread of mastitis during milking. Doing so will also protect against any zoonotic diseases, such as leptospirosis. Clusters should be attached to clean, dry teats. Some farmers strip each quarter before attaching clusters to check for mastitis and to stimulate milk let-down, but this can be very time-consuming. Keep a close eye on cows' udders as they come into the parlour and as you are putting clusters on. Strip quarters that you may be sceptical of, and carry out a California mastitis test (CMT) on cows that are off form or have a high temperature. Keep the pulse and milk tubes on the cow exit side when attaching the cluster, as doing so will allow for quick movement along the pit from one cluster to the other. Manual cluster removal should happen when there is only a single stream of milk visible in the claw piece, in order to minimise the risk of over-milking. Avoid causing air blasts when removing – turn off the vacuum by kinking the milk tube or by using the button on the claw piece. If you have automatic cluster removers (ACRs), ensure that they are in operating order. Teat spraying or dipping should be done as soon as possible after cluster removal, ensuring at least 10-15ml of the spray is applied evenly, covering all the teats, from top to bottom. Washing down should commence as soon as the last row of cows have left – having a standard operating procedure in place for both milking and washing down is essential in maintaining a clean, hygienic parlour. Do not forget that the milker is producing food and that the quality of this food is essential in sustaining and creating markets. Cow space Cow flow begins in the paddock or cubicle to the collecting yard, through the parlour and back out to the paddock or cubicles. Cow flow has a massive impact on milking efficiency and time spent in the parlour and is dictated by: cow roadways; facilities (collecting yard and parlour); and the milker. Roadways should be about 5m wide for 120 cows, with an extra 0.5m for every 100 cows thereafter. Roadways need to be wide enough for the number of cows with a good surface, to make sure that there are no pinch points or restrictions along the roadway. A farmer needs to ensure that the gathering yard can fit all of the herd, typically allowing for 1.52m2/cow, so cows are getting pushed and shoved, causing stress and potentially lameness issues. Where there is a backing gate in the gathering yard, ensure it is used solely to decrease the size of the gathering yard, rather than forcing cows into the parlour. It is easy to overlook factors like your milking routine at this time of the year, but as cows are at peak, you want to do everything in your power to make sure they hold that peak – and that comes down to environment, as well as nutrition of course. You also want to maximise your milk price during the cows' peak and having a high somatic cell count (SCC), total bacteria count (TBC) or thermoduric count is only going to deteriorate the price you receive per litre of product sold.
Agriland
02-06-2025
- Agriland
Taking hold of cell counts and identifying the problem cows
We are now approaching the mid-lactation and things will begin to ease off as less cows are getting served, though cell counts and problem cows will need to be controlled and identified. Hopefully farmers might have a bit more time on their hands after a long calving season, securing first cuts of silage, and overcoming the first few weeks of the breeding season to have a look at herd performance and individual cow performance. Often farmers will see bulk tank somatic cell count (SCC) begin to creep up during the summer months and choose to ignore it, but this probably indicates that there are a number of infected quarters in the herd causing a spike. The problem with letting a telltale sign like this slip is that it can lead to more infected quarters as it might not settle down on its own. Reacting in a timely fashion will set your herd up for the rest of the lactation with minimal mastitis infections and maximum production. Cell counts Some cows are more susceptible to high SCC, mastitis issues, lameness, and other diseases due to their genetic make-up and these cows should be identified and moved on. When cell counts are above 100,000 cells/ml, the farmer is losing out on money as, on average, mastitis will cost a farmer €60/cow/year, taking into account loss in milk price, loss in production, and the cost of treatment. The most effective way of reducing bulk tank SCC is through close analysis of milk recording data and identifying the cows that are contributing to the problem. However, there are number of measures farmers can take before removing cows from the herd, such as testing and servicing your milk machine every nine to 12 months. With rain expected to persist for another few days, farmers must ensure that the cows' environment is kept clean, as heavy rainfall can often show up poor roadways. To fully control contagious mastitis, a good milking routine is needed and standard operating procedures (SOPs) put in place so that relief milkers understand what has to be done before and after cows are milked. Farmers should not underestimate the power of teat disinfectant post-milking, as it reduces infection rates by 50%, so long as the whole teat is covered. Cows with high cell counts can easily be identified through the use of a California Mastitis Test (CMT), which could be used on cows suspect of causing issues or with a history of poor milk quality. Problem cows A cow that has had three or more clinical cases of mastitis during her lactation, or that has over 200,000 cells/ml of a SCC over two consecutive lactations despite receiving antibiotic treatment, is considered a problem cow. The cost to cure mastitis does vary from case to case depending on the severity but for these repeat offenders, sometimes they are incurable and will constantly show up with problems. Quite often, the best thing to do with these cows is to work off your milk recording reports, identify the repeat offenders, and move them on from the farm, as they are only going to drive up treatment costs and affect profitability. During peak production, farmers often get hung up on milk fat and protein percentages and kilos of milks solids produced per cow per day, but it is also crucial to be keeping an eye on your bulk tank cell counts, and get to the bottom of why it is sitting quite high. During peak production, you want to be maximising your milk price. High SCC is only going to be deducted from your price received and so these cows needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. Given the strong cull cow prices in factories at the minute, as well-fleshed 'P' grade cows are being quoted at €6.80/kg in general this week, it makes sense to bring these cows to the factory and get a decent price. This gives farmers the opportunity to swap these for younger, better-performing cows in milk for a small fee. Even if you are not intending on replacing these cows, you are better off with them gone. Leaving them in the herd risks the spread of infection to your high achievers, affecting production per cow while you allocate extra grass or meal to these cows that are not returning your input. The national average SCC of herds that are milk recording for the week ending May 23 as per the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) is at 140,000 cells/ml, which is still high for the time of the year, and it may be caused by a few problem cows in herds. Farmers may be tempted to keep on these cows when conditions are very favourable for grazing, and with grass growth looks set to take off again, but realistically they are not adding value and only affecting milk price and driving up costs. Milk recording data at this time of the year is often used for breeding decisions to identify the high achievers in the herd, but it should also be used to identify cows that are not worth serving and only fit for the factory.
