Clean equipment counts
By Gary Bennett, DVM
It has often been said, both here in Northeast DairyBusiness
and elsewhere, that clean, comfortable cows produce more high-quality
milk. How that milk is handled after it leaves the cow and how
well milk-contact surfaces are cleaned are also critical to
delivering a premium product to consumers. Milk quality scores,
specifically, the various bacteria counts, indicate just how
well this is being accomplished on each dairy. Following up
on the Bulk Tank Monitoring Program initiated in 2004, QMPS
is now preparing to offer milking system cleaning analysis based
on NMC (formerly the National Mastitis Council) guidelines.
Plan well, plan ahead
With the trend to larger milking facilities with more units,
meters and larger line sizes, proper cleaning of the complete
milking system has become the most complicated part of planning
a new installation. The time to place a second air injector
on the “add water” line is in the beginning, not
after repeatedly tearing a system apart to find the cause of
a high Lab Pasteurized Count.
During the planning phase, it’s critical for dairy producers
to hire an equipment installer who has their trust. Owners must
have the confidence that the installer’s recommendations
are necessary, not just an effort to “pad the bill”
or “have the low bid” on a new facility.
Producers should make their long-range plans clear to their
equipment installer during the planning stage. Plans to increase
herd size eventually may require more units and larger tanks
and lines. Draw on your installer’s experience to build
some flexibility into the system and save yourself the additional
cost and inconvenience of retrofitting additional components.
Milking a herd on one side of a parlor while you increase the
number of stalls on the other is no fun.
As milking systems have become larger, they’ve also become
more complex. At one time recording thermometers were all you
had to document whether systems were functioning properly. Now,
computers are used to monitor all aspects of system cleaning.
Dealers are normally very good about leaving laminated copies
of the washing instructions for a system, including water temperatures
and cycle length, water hardness values and other factors. It’s
a good idea to file a paper copy of the instructions in case
the laminates are “misplaced.”
Keep in mind these instructions are product specific and apply
to the particular cleaning products and water hardness used
at the time. You should check water hardness seasonally, and
provide new instructions with any cleaning product change.
NMC guidelines
Just as it did to prepare a scheme for producers to follow
to evaluate their systems’ milking function, the NMC collaborated
with dairy industry experts to develop guidelines that cover
milking system cleaning. The comprehensive guidelines provide
a step-by-step plan to investigate cleaning problems. NMC also
provides templates to follow and fill in with the various readings.
Recommended temperatures (Table 1) and cycle lengths (Table
2) are two examples of the information available. While beginning
temperatures are important to evaluate hot water capacity and
settings, discharge temperatures can also be critical, especially
here in the Northeast where winter (and sometimes fall and spring!)
temperatures can rob heat from the exposed surfaces.
Likewise, you should note pH values of discharge solutions
to assure that the alkaline wash and acid rinse are, in fact,
what they’re supposed to be. Initial rinse water should
return clear to ensure that all milk has been flushed from the
milklines prior to adding the hot alkaline wash solution.
The NMC Guide also suggests strategic sampling techniques to
pinpoint a problem in a particular section of the system or
a specific group of cows or milkers. It also provides techniques
to help pinpoint an incubation problem due to overuse of milk
filters.
Most of these checks don’t require sophisticated test
equipment or expensive supplies. A stopwatch, pH paper and accurate
thermometer, along with careful observation of claws, meters,
sinks and fill lines (Is any air being sucked into the system
at the end of a cycle?), can solve many cleaning problems.
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