Dairy Best Practice

The milking shed is the last step of months of work getting your herd, grass and your team working as efficiently as possible. Don’t let the last step affect your milk’s quality; ensure your milk liners are working just as hard, change them according to industry norms which is after 2500 milkings.

Skellerup’s milk liners are designed to match cow herds to the many configurations of milking equipment on New Zealand dairy farms. The optimum milking liners can make a big difference to milk yield and cow comfort.

You have peace of mind knowing that all Skellerup VacPlus and Reflex liners are made from high quality materials and are compliant with NZCP1 which is the operational code issued by the Ministry of Primary Industries for the Design and Operation of Farm Dairies (section 14.1.5)

For best results, replace any rubberware that comes into contact with milk every season. All other rubberware should be checked regularly and replaced when perished, cracked or damaged.

All Skellerup rubberware that contacts milk complies with NZCP1, which is the operational code issued by the Ministry of Primary Industries for the Design and Operation of Farm Dairies (section 14.1.5) and BFR European food grade standards and is designed for NZ dairy conditions.

It’s best practice to change your milk filter after every milking. Washing filters is a false economy, and increases the risk of sediments and milk grading.

Milk filters cost under NZ$1, but will cost upwards of NZ$5 in labour and water heating when attempting to clean them. Don’t spend more to get below average performance and a risk of milk grading.

The 2016/17 season brought more challenges than most for a family owned and operated dairy farm on the Hauraki Plains, but there was one major highlight: the herd’s average bulk somatic cell count (SCC) dropped by half.

Despite torrential rain, widespread flooding and no shortage of mud, Ted and Cherie Nicholson finished 2016/17 with an average SCC of 140,000, down from 281,000 in 2015/16.

Mastitis affects your herd’s health and comfort, and it’s expensive. Costs are up to $200 per cow when taking into account loss of production, milk grading and medical costs.

Teat spraying has been proven to prevent new infections as long as the entire circumference of the teat for at least half of its length is coated with sanitizer (Pankey and Watts, 1983).