A key part of maintaining a sanitary and efficient dairy is proper equipment and setup. Milk quality begins with healthy, properly fed and cared for cows, and it continues with a clean facility and milking environment. Everything in the milk room is cleaned rigorously after each milking. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Every milking starts here (after making sure your boots aren't covered in pig manure!), with assembling and checking all your equipment. If the milk tank was emptied and cleaned earlier that day, it gets sprayed with a disinfectant and rinsed, to make sure no bad bacteria has made its way in there. If not, we simply add the fresh milk to what's left from the previous milking. The tank gets completely emptied and scrubbed a minimum of three times per week. Our bulk tank holds 80 gallons, and the outer wall houses a cooling jacket that quickly takes the milk temperature down and holds it between 33 and 40 degrees. The quicker you cool milk after it leaves the animal, the better.
Every milking starts here (after making sure your boots aren't covered in pig manure!), with assembling and checking all your equipment. If the milk tank was emptied and cleaned earlier that day, it gets sprayed with a disinfectant and rinsed, to make sure no bad bacteria has made its way in there. If not, we simply add the fresh milk to what's left from the previous milking. The tank gets completely emptied and scrubbed a minimum of three times per week. Our bulk tank holds 80 gallons, and the outer wall houses a cooling jacket that quickly takes the milk temperature down and holds it between 33 and 40 degrees. The quicker you cool milk after it leaves the animal, the better.
The milk cans must be assembled; each has a lid with a rubber gasket, a "claw" and a hose to connect to the vacuum line. We use two cans at a time, which is as much as one person can handle by themselves with the setup we have.
Next comes a bucket of warm, soapy water and clean towels for washing the udders, and another bucket for holding the used towels.
Two teat dippers are filled with iodine, which disinfects the teats and ensures no bacteria enters the udder through the milk channel. They are colour-coded because you dip both before and after milking; one is used only for the pre-dip, and the other for the post-dip.
A strip cup is a small cup with a screen top, into which goes the first few squirts of milk. It gives you a quick look at the milk, checking to see whether it's clean, and most importantly, it is the easiest way to check for mastitis in the udder. (Mastitic milk will have ropy or goopy strands in it that will not pass through the screen.)
Lastly, we grab a couple of inflation plugs, because a few of our cows only have three working quarters instead of four (hence "quarters") and the plug is needed to maintain suction in the claw.
And in the end, you're all set up with your cart looking like this:
Next comes a bucket of warm, soapy water and clean towels for washing the udders, and another bucket for holding the used towels.
Two teat dippers are filled with iodine, which disinfects the teats and ensures no bacteria enters the udder through the milk channel. They are colour-coded because you dip both before and after milking; one is used only for the pre-dip, and the other for the post-dip.
A strip cup is a small cup with a screen top, into which goes the first few squirts of milk. It gives you a quick look at the milk, checking to see whether it's clean, and most importantly, it is the easiest way to check for mastitis in the udder. (Mastitic milk will have ropy or goopy strands in it that will not pass through the screen.)
Lastly, we grab a couple of inflation plugs, because a few of our cows only have three working quarters instead of four (hence "quarters") and the plug is needed to maintain suction in the claw.
And in the end, you're all set up with your cart looking like this:
We tend to set up the cart the same every time, for the sake of efficiency. That way your hands always know where your tools are supposed to be and you can fall into a good routine.
The last part of setup is making sure the barn is in order and portioning out the grain. Give everything a once-over and make sure there are no gates or doors open that a curious cow will want to investigate. Every cow gets their portion of grain in the feed trough in front of their stanchion, and then you're ready to begin.
The last part of setup is making sure the barn is in order and portioning out the grain. Give everything a once-over and make sure there are no gates or doors open that a curious cow will want to investigate. Every cow gets their portion of grain in the feed trough in front of their stanchion, and then you're ready to begin.