Webinar on demand: Pre-milking solutions to maximise milk production
A healthy and profitable herd – not to be missed expert insights! Dairy Global, in collaboration with CID Lines, an Ecolab company, hosted an exclusive webinar on 3 July on pre-milking solutions to maximise your milk production performance.
Did you miss the insights on how to take your dairy herd performance to new heights? In this webinar, experts shared their knowledge on the pre-milking solutions as well as lowering mastitis-causing pathogens on-farm, thereby enhancing health and welfare and also farm profits. If you have missed it, here it is!
Sofie Piepers on best practices for pre-milking
Sofie Piepers, veterinary doctor and managing director of MEX, kicked off the session by discussing best practices for pre-milking to boost milking efficiency, including different pre-milking methods. She explained some facts about udder stimulation and getting the best out of harvesting milk. She stated that stimulating the udder triggers the release of oxytocin into the bloodstream, and maintaining high oxytocin levels throughout the entire milking process is essential for efficient milking.
What is an optimal pre-milking routine? “It all starts with pre-foaming; it’s important to clean the teat.” She adds that stimulation will then start. “The stimulation consists of 2 steps: first the forestripping (a minimum of 8 seconds per animal) and then the wiping (a minimum of 7 seconds per animal) – so in total there is a stimulation of about 15 seconds or preferably even 20 seconds,” Sofie adds. This should happen for the first 5 cows. Thereafter, the milking cluster is attached. This process ensures high oxytocin levels and a good release of milk from the udder. “This process also helps to respect the time of 60-120 seconds between the first touch of the teat and the cluster attachment. This is important because it takes time before oxytocin is produced.”
So what happens when there is a poor pre-milking routine? A poor routine could be due to:
- Stimulation not being long enough (forestripping and wiping)
- Or the interval between the start of preparation and the cluster attachment being too short – there isn’t enough time for the cow to eject the milk
Sofie also further discussed forestripping, highlighting that it is vital for stripping away the high bacterial count. She presented research comparing forestripping versus no forestripping. She further discussed the outcomes of research, for example on Streptococcus uberis and other mastitis-causing pathogens, and presented results showing how wiping and pre-foaming have a major impact on the bacteria present. “If we wipe and pre-foam, we have seen a reduction of Staph. spp. species as well as Strepp. spp. species on the teat skin.”
She talked about stressed animals and the effects of stress. In addition, she emphasised the importance of the pre-milking routine and the impact on the cow if the routine is poor. She explained what can be observed after cluster detachment that would indicate a poor pre-milking routine, including problems such as swollen teats and overstretched teat-end muscles.
Adrien Tavel on the value of pre-milking, mastitis prevention and hygiene priorities
Adrien Tavel, global product manager, Dairy Cows portfolio, CID Lines (an Ecolab company) was the second speaker. “We truly believe that pre-milking brings value to farmers by ensuring higher milk quality and reducing the risk of mastitis leading to overall dairy farm efficiency,” he said at the start of his presentation. He presented on what the actual ‘value’ of pre-milking means in monetary terms and how it can be measured – for instance, in the cost of preventing new infections of clinical mastitis, saving milking time and hourly labor costs, and milk quality penalties per ton of milk with a high SCC count.
Adrien also discussed mastitis prevention and hygiene priorities, recommending thorough cleaning before and after milking, during which an effective teat dip can be applied. “For each step of the milking, you need to disinfect: first the cluster, then the teats after milking and before milking.” He also stressed that, “the origin of the pathogen mainly determines the type of mastitis. Pathogens from the environment mainly cause clinical mastitis, while pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus mainly cause subclinical mastitis.”
Regarding solutions and on-farm advice, he reviewed a mastitis management model focusing on somatic cell count, contamination, mastitis prevalence on the farm, and the use of cleaners and biocides to reduce bacterial counts and disinfect on-farm.
