Dipping teats and rinsing milking clusters are just two of the tasks that farmers must tackle when milking dairy cows in a parlour.
These tasks are critical for maintaining udder health, but they are labour intensive and more parlour operators are looking to automation and technology that can not only do the job, but do it better.
In this report from the Canadian Dairy XPO in Stratford, Ont., ADF Milking technical engineer George Duke looks at how the company’s ADF InVent system automates the dipping and flushing process to reduce labour and cross-contamination. It dips cows automatically and washes the cluster between uses, which benefits cow health by reducing mastitis and also lowers chemical usage.
Duke notes that the InVent system continuously monitors and controls vacuum levels on each individual teat. As the vacuum is shut off, teat dip is injected into a manifold on the claw piece and is applied to the teat at the optimum angle within seconds to protect it from harmful contagions in the environment. After the cluster is removed from the cow, the cleaning process commences and every liner is sanitized and rinsed six times, readied for the next cow.
The InVent system is also designed to reduce vacuum stress on the teat that can lead to reduced milk let-down and teat swelling. “We’re reducing the stress on the teat by allowing fresh vented air into the hood of the liner through our injector, typically at the beginning and towards the end of milking,” says Duke. “We’re trying to reduce the amount of vacuum in the hood, so she’s more comfy. Then you get less kick offs, and milk flows increase.”
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