High-Quality Milking Routines
alternative practice names:
Milking Routine; Parlor Management; Milk Harvest Management; Udder Health Management
Management activities during milking play a critical role in ensuring animal health, productivity, and milk quality. The interactions of the cow, milking system components, and personnel during milk harvest result in a series of cow exposures with known associations to udder health and productivity outcomes.
Proper milking procedures and routines involve consistent and hygienic practices to support both cow health and milk quality. This includes pre-milking hygiene, such as cleaning and sanitizing the udder and teats to reduce the risk of mastitis and maintaining clean milking equipment to prevent bacterial contamination. Effective milking also requires appropriate stimulation and observing a proper prep lag time to optimize milk letdown and production. Adhering to a consistent milking routine reduces stress in cows, leading to better udder health and optimal milk yield. Post-milking care, such as applying teat disinfectants, further protects cows from infections, while regular health monitoring ensures early detection of any issues.
When used, in what regions in the U.S. is the practice found:
Northwest, West, Upper Midwest, Southwest, Northeast, Southeast
FARM SIZE
When used, typically found on farms of the following sizes:
All Sizes
Practice Benefits
Increased milk production: Proper routines improve udder health, reduce stress, and support optimal milk production for the cow. They optimize milk letdown and, therefore, the function of the secretory cells in the udder, which have a pressure-dependent response. In early lactation and peak cows, this can also encourage higher production from one milking to the next.
Increased profitability: Optimizing udder health will tend to improve milk quality measures such as somatic cell count; many milk markets offer modest premiums for lower somatic cell counts, further influencing the profitability of these practices.
Reduced risk of infections: Proper procedures, including hygiene and udder care, reduce the risk of mastitis and other infections. Reducing infections reduces the need for antibiotics and other treatments, lowers veterinary expenses and medication costs, and reduces production losses associated with discarded milk, reduced milk production.
Reduced cow stress: A consistent routine helps lower stress levels, leading to better overall health and productivity.
Implementation Insights
Site-specific or Farm-specific requirements
Operational differences: The basic principles of milking routine and equipment function apply across all milking systems and labor strategies, but the implementation of these principles will differ, especially between tie stalls, milking parlors, and automated milking systems.
Required Capital Expenditures (CapEx)
Equipment: Some operations may choose to invest in new equipment such as milking unit alignment devices or upgraded washing machines for milking towels.
Required Operational Expenditures (OpEx)
Consulting services: Many dairies invite consultants such as veterinarians, milking equipment specialists, or other udder health professionals to assess and recommend adjustments to milking procedures.
Implementation: Professional services can also be very useful for explaining changes to staff and training. Management buy-in and continued involvement in the milking process are important. Investing time and effort in fostering a culture of adherence to proper milking procedures and a commitment to continuous improvement can prevent protocol drift.
Implementation Considerations
Personnel management: To achieve consistent and lasting results, it is important to establish clear expectations and secure buy-in from personnel. Significant employee turnover and the prevalence of bad habits in milking and/or maintenance practices are recognized as barriers to progress.
Financial Considerations and Revenue Streams
There are no federal cost-share programs or conservation funding for this practice.
FINANCIAL RESOURCES, TOOLS, AND CASE STUDIES
Environmental Impacts
MAY REDUCE FARM GREENHOUSE GAS FOOTPRINT
There is currently little scientific research evaluating the impact of the practice on a farm's environmental footprint. Proper milking routines and procedures improve production and lower the incidence of infections like mastitis. Consistent and hygienic milking practices, such as pre-milking udder preparation and post-milking teat disinfection, significantly lower the risk of intramammary infections that may cause mastitis. Research suggests that by implementing and maintaining these best practices, dairy farms can effectively reduce the incidence of clinical mastitis, thereby improving cow health, enhancing reproductive performance, and increasing overall herd productivity (Dufour et al., 2011).
Higher productivity and reduced milk waste in dairy operations may significantly lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity. As cows become more efficient, fewer nutrients are needed for maintenance. This allows for more resources to be directed toward milk production, thereby reducing methane emissions per unit of milk (Beauchemin et al., 2022). Additionally, minimizing milk waste ensures that more of the produced milk is utilized, further optimizing resource use and lowering overall GHG emissions.
Research by Mostert et al. (2019) found that mastitis in dairy cows leads to a significant increase in GHG emissions. Specifically, the GHG emissions of cows with clinical mastitis increased on average by 6.2% (per kilogram of milk) compared to cows without clinical mastitis. This increase is attributed to factors such as reduced milk yield, extended lactation periods, and prolonged calving intervals, all of which contribute to less efficient milk production and higher overall emissions.
Further research is necessary to fully understand the long-term impacts of proper milking routines on GHG emissions.
REFerences
Alignment with FARM Program
FARM Environmental Stewardship (ES) V2-V3 Alignment
An optional input in FARM ES Version 3 asks which percentage of culls are for mastitis. Cull rates influence herd demographics and replacement rates, which in turn impact the greenhouse gas emissions intensity.
FARM Animal Care (AC) V5 Alignment
FARM AC requires producers to have a Herd Health Plan (HHP), which includes written protocols for the treatment of common diseases, including diarrhea, displaced abomasum, ketosis, mastitis, milk fever, metritis, pneumonia, and any additional routinely occurring diseases identified by the veterinarian.
Contents
We're always eager to update the website with the latest research, implementation insights, financial case studies, and emerging practices. Use the link above to share your insights.
We're always eager to update the website with the latest research, implementation insights, financial case studies, and emerging practices. Use the link above to share your insights.
Management activities during milking play a critical role in ensuring animal health, productivity, and milk quality. The interactions of the cow, milking system components, and personnel during milk harvest result in a series of cow exposures with known associations to udder health and productivity outcomes.
Proper milking procedures and routines involve consistent and hygienic practices to support both cow health and milk quality. This includes pre-milking hygiene, such as cleaning and sanitizing the udder and teats to reduce the risk of mastitis and maintaining clean milking equipment to prevent bacterial contamination. Effective milking also requires appropriate stimulation and observing a proper prep lag time to optimize milk letdown and production. Adhering to a consistent milking routine reduces stress in cows, leading to better udder health and optimal milk yield. Post-milking care, such as applying teat disinfectants, further protects cows from infections, while regular health monitoring ensures early detection of any issues.
Practices and technologies
High-Quality Milking Routines
alternative practice name:
Milking Routine; Parlor Management; Milk Harvest Management; Udder Health Management