Andrew Hogan, a highly experienced milking assessor from FRS Training based in Roscrea, Co Tipperary, showed the Irish Farmers Journal how to maintain and control cow hygiene and good milk quality and demonstrated best practice in milking at a recent FRS Training course. Andrew showed us the correct routine for ensuring that cow teats are clean and ready for cluster application.

Farmer preparation

Farmer preparation is just as important as cow preparation. Farmers should ensure clean milking parlour equipment and utensils.

In addition to best practices, farmers should wear well-fitting disposable nitrile gloves when milking cows and should wash and disinfect hands and clothing regularly to eliminate any chances of milk contamination, especially when handling mastitis or other infected material.

Teat cleaning and stripping

Once the cows are in the milking parlour, if they are clean and dry, it is recommended to start milking straight away. If some or all of the cows’ teats are dirty, the farmer should wash/spray the teats but must ensure to dry the cows’ teats before milking. By not drying the teats after washing, the dirt will relocate and accumulate at the base of the teat, which will have implications on overall milk quality and the health of the cow’s udder.

After the teats have been washed and dried, Andrew recommends foremilk stripping in order to identify any clots or milk discolouration. Three squirts of milk on to a clean surface is sufficient to identify any health concerns or any presence of mastitis.

Farmers are advised not to strip the milk on to the ground and to use a clean dish to eliminate the spread of bacteria or mastitis. Stripping is also beneficial as it helps to stimulate the cow, which aids in the process of milk let-down and ensures faster milking.

Applying clusters

When applying clusters, farmers should aim to use both sides of their body equally, ie hold the claw piece in one hand applying teat cups on one side of the pit and use the other hand when applying cups on the opposite side. There should be no overdependence on right or left hand. Andrew recommends to hold the clawpiece with your thumb on top and use your free hand to apply the cups on to the teats.

Using both sides of your body equally helps to reduce the chances of repetitive strain injury, which occurs when a person does the same thing repetitively.

With herd expansion in recent years, farmers, especially young farmers, should understand correct practices to prevent repetitive strain injury later on in life.

When milking cows, farmers are advised to leave any mastitis-infected cows to the last row to reduce the chances of spreading mastitis. All equipment should be washed with water and detergent in order to minimise bacterial growth.

Finishing milking

For farmers who do not have automatic clusters installed, it is important to know when the cow is finished milking – usually a single stream of milk in the bowl is a clear signal that the cow has been milked out, and at this point farmers should remove the cluster. Farmers who leave clusters attached until there is no milk visible at all in the claw are over-milking and may cause damage to the teats of a cow. Over-milking a cow has been linked to increased mastitis occurrence and an increase in somatic cell count (SCC).

Once the farmer identifies that the cow is finished milking, he should cut the vacuum using the button and allow three seconds for the vacuum to be released, allowing the cluster to drop off freely. Farmers should not force the removal of the cluster. The claw of a cluster contains a small, pin-size air admission hole. This hole is extremely important for effective removal. Farmers should ensure that this hole is not blocked as any blockage will delay the vacuum being cut to the teats.

Disinfection after milking

After milking, farmers should ensure full coverage of teat with spray/dip to minimise the growth of bacteria. Farmers should ensure that the whole teat surface is covered with teat disinfectant. Andrew recommends the use of teat spray as opposed to the dip cup as bacteria and organic material may accumulate in the dip cup throughout the milking.

After milking, farmers should spray cows upwards and not from side to side. Full coverage of the teat and a drop of disinfectant at the end of the teat is needed to ensure proper disinfection. Some 15ml of teat spray should be used per cow for each milking.

To see if all sides of the teat are being covered, farmers can conduct a paper towel test. The simple test involves wrapping a piece of paper towel around the surface of the teat after teat spraying.

The paper towel should be stained by the teat disinfectant. A ‘‘solid’’ stained area indicates sufficient spray coverage of the teat surface whereas a ‘‘patchy’’, stained area indicates incomplete teat spray coverage.

The best practice in milking is a certified QQI Level 6 course run by FRS Training in conjunction with Teagasc and AHI and is available throughout the country visit www.frstraining.com for dates and venues.