Comparison of vacuum conditions in an automatic milking system for milking parlours
2011
Ströbel, U. | Rose-Meierhöfer, S. | Brunsch, R., Leibnitz-Institut fuer Agrartechnik Potsdam-Bornim, Potsdam (Germany)
Individual-quarter milking technology is becoming ever-more popular with farmers making replacement investments in milking technology. The present study compares a Multilactor® individual-quarter milking system for milking parlours with an automatic milking system (AMS).[...] The aim of the present study was therefore to determine the average vacuum present at the teat-end for different milk flows in the 'b' and 'd' phases for the two milking systems. It was discovered that the milking vacuum at the teat-end in the 'b' phase at a flow rate of 4.8 litres/min was 41.7 kPa in the AMS and 33.3 kPa in the Multilactor®. The system vacuum stood at 47.0 and 35.0 kPa, respectively. For the 'd' phase, a vacuum of 36.9 kPa in the AMS and 12.8 kPa in the Multilactor® was measured for the same flow rate. It is only because it is equipped with Biomilker valves® that the Multilactor® manages to achieve such a low vacuum in the 'd' phase. Since a vacuum reduction in the 'd' phase does not increase milking duration but does relieve stress on the teat, it may be assumed that the use of Biomilker® technology in individual-quarter milking systems leads to an improvement of the vacuum application, which in turn can presumably contribute to a reduction in udder complaints.
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