DeLaval has unveiled a new milking methodology that responds to the cow’s natural milk flow, which it claims saves time and improves animal welfare.
The company has launched Flow-Adjusted Vacuum and Flow-Adjusted Stimulation as part of its new Flow-Responsive™ Milking system.
It claims milking times can be reduced by up to 10% whilst supporting good udder health and animal welfare.
It has adapted the applied vacuum to the milk flow profile of each cow.
DeLaval also claim to be the developers of the “first successful” vacuum-operated milking machine in 1917.
It says Flow-Responsive™ Milking is the “latest way to milk more precisely and efficiently”.
DeLaval
Dr Carl Oskar Paulrud, dairy development director at DeLaval, said:
“Historically, using a single vacuum level, the system is a compromise that avoids the risk of over-milking (at the start and end of milking when milk flow is lower) but then has the potential of under-milking (when milk flow is at its peak).”
“Therefore, in a traditional system with a single vacuum level, the speed of milking is limited not by the cow’s genetics or available milk, but by the operation of the milking machine.”
New products
The first two products as part of the DeLaval Flow-Responsive™ Milking are:
- Flow-Adjusted Vacuum;
- Flow-Adjusted Stimulation.
Both will be available for rotaries and parlours. The firm said you must combine new sensors, regulator valves, and software to respond to the actual milk flow of each cow and adjust the level of the vacuum accordingly.
Dr Martin Wiedemann, cluster solution manager at DeLaval, added:
It claims that an ability to adjust vacuum levels means that DeLaval Flow-Responsive Milking can speed up milking and give clear benefits for udder and teat health.
“This can truly improve farm efficiency. 40 million milkings have been performed with Flow-Adjusted Vacuum. The cluster-on time has been reduced by an average of 20 seconds per milking.”
“Additionally, working hours in the milking system have been reduced.”
Monitor remotely
The vacuum monitoring and notifications are presented in the new DeLaval Alerts application. This allows milking systems, equipped with Flow-Responsive Milking, to be monitored remotely.
The software can also be easily updated in the future when the firm develops new versions, it said.
Research
Concluding, Bettina Krausbauer, Director for Milk-Extraction at DeLaval, said:
“There have been significant improvements in dairy genetics, farm practices, feed management, the understanding of cow physiology and behaviour, and milk synthesis.”
“We have used this and taken the milking process to a new level by keeping the push from the cow and the pull of the milking machine in best possible balance.”
