Housing and Milking Equipment

Many Northern Ireland Dairy Farmers are currently upgrading their housing facilities and milking equipment to improve cow health and welfare and increase labour efficiency. CAFRE Dairying Development Advisers and the Dairying Technology Team based at Greenmount Campus have recently been working on various aspects of dairy cow housing and milking equipment. Some information on the work is available through the following links:

The milking parlour is one of the most important pieces of machinery on a dairy farm, and the only equipment in direct contact with the cow. However, the function, maintenance and effects on milk quality of the milking parlour are poorly understood by many dairy farmers. As a result, milking equipment is neglected and poorly maintained on many farms.

Herd sizes have continued to grow in Northern Ireland. The average herd size is now in excess of 70 cows. Almost half of the cows in Northern Ireland are in herds over 100 cows. This has increased markedly in recent years.

Stray voltage in excess of 1.5 volts AC has been associated with increases in the level of clinical mastitis in dairy cows. The clinical infections usually occur in cows that already have sub-clinical infections. Finding the cause of stray voltage is generally not simple, because the on-farm and off-farm sources act together and can vary with time.