Many dairy farmers suffer from back and shoulder pain due to repetitive strain injury (RSI).

This is brought about from years of doing the same things over and over again, such as attaching and removing clusters. Basically, joints and tissue in the shoulders and back wear, causing chronic pain.

Using the correct milking technique can greatly reduce the risk of getting RSI. The proper technique involves switching hands when attaching clusters, having good posture and attaching to the teats in the correct order.

Padraig O’Connor is a research technician with Teagasc and at Dairy Day he outlined the correct milking technique, from start to finish.

1. Start in the collecting yard.

Make sure the yard is clean, free of obstacles and that all gates are correctly positioned so that cows will arrive at the collecting yard.

Make sure the plant is rinsed and ready for milking.

2. When bringing cows in for milking, do so in a calm manner.

Cows should walk at their own pace. When cows are rushed, they will be more prone to lameness and it could affect SCC levels also.

3 Put on your milking apron/gown and gloves.

Wash down the cluster and cow standing areas. This will make it easier to clean later.

4 Turn on the machine and let the cows in for milking.

Teat preparation varies from farm to farm and at different times of the year.

Padraig said that, at a minimum, all dirty teats must be cleaned and dried prior to the cluster going on.

5. Start attaching clusters from the front of the parlour and work back.

The proper attachment is critical to prevent repetitive strain injury. Hold the cluster in the hand closest to the front of the parlour.

This will change depending on which side you are attaching clusters on to.

6. Attach cups with your other hand.

The hardest teat to reach is the back teat closest to the hand holding the cluster, so attach to this teat first and then attach to the teat in front and work around in a circular motion.

7. As you are swinging over the cluster to attach it on to a cow, you should pick up the cup that you intend to attach first.

To prevent air being sucked in and a resulting loss of vacuum, push down the cup that you are holding upright to block the liner nipple on the claw piece.

Then attach the cup on to the teat. Use your finger as a guide to finding the teats.

8. Attach clusters in batches of five or 10 cows.

When clusters are removed from that batch, teat-spray the cows that are milked before going on to the next batch.

This will allow the gate to be open and cows to start exiting before the last clusters are off.

9. In large parlours, using the bunny-hopping or batch system is a lot more efficient than using a territorial system.

In a territorial system, each milker has his or her number of units and they don’t go into each other’s space.

This is a very inefficient method.

10. After all cows are milked, wash the clusters and attach them to the jetters.

Wash down the cow stands (not when cows are still in the parlour), pit and collecting yard.

11. Rinsing.

Rinse the plant with 14l/unit of cold water and then wash the plant using a recommended wash protocol.

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