Effects of automatic cluster removal and feeding during milking on milking efficiency, milk yield and milk fat quality.

Efficiency in all spheres on the dairy farm should be strived for. Although on first thought one would think about the cow and lowering feed costs, there are many other areas where improvement can be targeted. One is in the milking parlour where one can address the milking process even though the automatic system does things smoothly. A paper by a Danish group (Ferneborg and co-workers) addressed the effects of two cluster take-off levels and feeding during milking vs not feeding during milking. Their results were published in the Journal of Dairy Research, Volume 83 of 2016, pages 180 to 187, the title being: Effects of automatic cluster removal and feeding during milking on milking efficiency, milk yield and milk fat quality.

The effects of the two different cluster take-off levels (200 and 800 g per minute) and feeding vs. not feeding during milking were tested in a Latin square design study with 32 cows. Milk yield, milking time, milk flow and milking interval were measured and milk samples were analysed for gross composition, sodium and potassium concentration, free fatty acid (FFA) content, milk fat globule (MFG) size, MFG membrane (MFGM) material and fatty acid composition. Residual milk was harvested to evaluate udder emptying.

The results showed that by increasing the take-off level from 200 to 800 g per minute milking time was decreased and milk flow was increased. Udder emptying decreased slightly, but there were no effects on milk yield, FFA content or MFGM. There were also small but inconsistent effects of take-off level and feeding during milking on content of some milk fatty acids. Feeding during milking increased milk yield per day and decreased milking interval. Sodium and potassium concentrations in milk were unaffected by treatments, indicating no loss of tight junction integrity.

From these results, it is clear that feeding during milking should be used to increase milk yield and improve milking efficiency, regardless of take-off level used, and that the effect of feeding is more pronounced when a low take-off level is used. Feeding seemed to counteract the effects of the low take-off level on milking time and milking interval. Low take-off levels can therefore be used in combination with feeding.