Some of the advantages of milking machines are:

Saving of labour expenses.

Reduction of dependency on skilled farm workers.

Enables rearing of larger herd strength.

3-4 times faster than hand milking.

Increase in the milk yield.

Increase in the quality of milk.

Reduces stress throughout the lactation by creating good milking routines.

Limitations:

Some of the older cows which are accustomed to hand milking may not adjust to machine milking.

Standby power supply is essential

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High initial investment and training of staff.

Negligence in following the strict cleaning procedures would lead to severe contamination and higher incidence of mastitis.

Greater water requirement for cleaning of equipment.

Prompt service and availability of spares is essential.

With a correctly specified, installed, operated and maintained milking plant you will be rewarded with a volume of milk according to your cows’ present ability and with a quality that meets the highest standards.

The payment for your milk is always related to the volume produced and in most cases also influenced by the quality of the milk measured in some way.

Milk quality can be measured as fat and protein content and then valued as food for human consumption with a certain content of nutrients.

Milk quality can be measured as total bacteria content (TBC), which measures the hygienic standard of the milk.

Milk quality can also be measured as somatic cell content (SCC), which measures the animal health or level of mastitis infections in the udder.

Milk quality can also be measured as odor (smell) and taste, which is a measurement of palatability.

Finally contaminations of antibiotic residues, other impurities and water are seen as serious deteriorations of the milk quality.

TBC and SCC are the accepted measurements used to set standards in most OECD countries and international trade regulations. They are also used for various bonus and penalty payment schemes to producers throughout the world.