The milking machine or parlour is the most important piece of equipment on a dairy farm, so ensuring that is remains operational is vital.
There are a number of working and wearing parts on the machine that need to be checked on an ongoing basis.
Issues with the milking machine can results in serious problems with cell counts and milk quality.
Liners
The liners are one of the parts or pieces on the milking machine that need to be changed regularly.
They are the only piece of the machine that come into contact with the cow, and if not changed when needed they can be a source of bacteria.
The major factor that determines when liners need to be changed is the number of cows going through the parlour.
A farmer milking nine rows of cows means their liners are completing 18 milkings/day, so they need to be changed every 111 days (2,000/18 = 111 days).
When changing liners it is important that the new ones are installed correctly, as failure to do so will result in cows not being milked properly.
When the liners are being changed is also a good time to fix any other issues you have seen in the parlour.
There are a lot of parts of the milking machine that can become worn, for example the milk line or pulsation tubes should be checked to ensure they are not frayed or damaged.
You should also check the bowl/cawl for any damage or that the air hole is not blocked.
Checks
During the milking process there are a number of checks that should be completed. These checks ensure that the milking machine is working properly and that there are no issues during the milking process.
One of these checks involves the vacuum, and ensuring that there is no fluctuation during milking.
In general, the parlour should be operating at 47-48kpa – but this figure can vary depending on the milking machine brand and size.
Another thing to keep an eye on is the length of time it takes to milk a row of cows. There will be variation between cows and farms, but on average, from milk let-down to finish, it should usually take five to seven minutes.
Keep track of the number of liner slips that need to be corrected; five or less is acceptable for a 100-cow herd but a higher number could indicate an issue, i.e. an air admission hole on the claw piece being blocked.
These holes should be checked on an on-going basis as they can easily become blocked.
Milking machine
Something that should be kept on all dairy farms is extra supplies to ensure that if an breakdown occurs is can be sorted quickly and milking can resume.
Some spare liners and rubber wear for the milk and vaccum line are vital items to have as spares on farms.
You should also have some extra claw bowls pieces to hand, as these can get broken.
Some extra parts for the motor itself are also no harm, but only pieces that wear should be kept.