The milking routine on dairy farms is a process that must be done correctly, as mistakes made can result in cell count issues within the herd.
An effective milking routine is vital for any dairy farm, in order to ensure that the highest quality milk possible is delivered from the farm.
An ineffective milking routine could be aiding the spread of bacteria, increasing the number of mastitis cases and/or cell counts.
Milking routine
With most herds now returning to milk production, it is a good time to review your milking routine and identify areas that could be improved.
Some simple changes to the routine could be highly-effective at reducing milking times and cell counts on your farm.
Starting with the milker, anyone milking cows should be wearing clean disposable gloves, a clean apron/waterproofs and generally keep the place clean.
It is crucial that clusters are attached to clean and dry udders – clusters should not be attached to dirty udders.
The advice is to start with the back-right cup and work in an anti-clockwise direction.
This means attaching the back-right, followed by the front-right, followed by the front-left and lastly, the back-left cluster.
Once the cluster has been attached, it is important to check that it is sitting squarely on the cow.
This will cut down on liner slip and ensure that the cow is milked correctly.
If water needs to be used to clean the area, it should only be done when the clusters are attached, or when there are no cows standing in the row.
Avoid using water when cows are standing in the row, as it could aid the spread of bacteria.
It is important to remember that the milking routine includes the entire process – from setting up the parlour, to washing it thoroughly afterwards.
The issues within your milking routine may actually lie within the washing process of the parlour – which is why it is important that you regularly check the effectiveness of the washing process for your parlour and bulk tank.
Cell counts
The milking process is where milk is harvested and then transferred into the bulk tank before being collected.
Although some cows will have cell count issues due to genetic reasons, many of the issues with cell counts on farms can be traced back to the milking process.
Many farms appeared to have struggled with controlling cell counts in 2023, due to challenging weather conditions.
If the milking routine is right, and a high-standard is achieved and maintained, there should not be widespread issues with cell counts.
Attaching clusters to cows with teats that are visibly clean and dry is important for the control of cell counts.
Post-milking teat disinfectant is also crucial, it should be applied straight after the cluster has been removed from the cow, before the sphincter canal starts to close.
Applying the disinfectant straight away reduces the amount of time bacteria has to enter the teat opening.
Spraying should be done before cows move off and are directed upwards, with the whole area of the teat being covered.
About 10ml/cow should be used for a dip, and 15ml/cow for a spray.
Advice
You should take the time to compare your cell counts to previous years, and see if there has been a rise to try determine the issue.
Milk recording should be used to identify chronically infected cows and they should be removed from the herd.
The aim should be to have a cell count of less than 200,000 cells/ml throughout the year, which many herds to achieve.
To achieve this, infected cows need to be removed and your milking routine needs to be right.
