AN EXTRA 2 LITRES OF MILK PER COW ON AVERAGE PER DAY BY REDUCING WAITING TIME FOR MILKING AND INCREASING THE MILKING INTERVAL TO 12 HOURS

On a prebreed scan today for an autumn calving programme involving a total herd of 370 cows in milk today, split between spring and autumn calving, the client informed me that his herd was currently producing an extra 2 litre per cow per day.

He has split the dairy herd on the basis of current milk production, days in milk and pregnancy status.  He increased the milking interval from 8 to 10 hours to a standard of 12 hour milking intervals.  By splitting the herd and ensuring cows are milked at 12 hour intervals, there was a sudden increase of 2 litres on average per cow of the total herd.  The spike in milk production was obviously greater with the fresh calvers compared with either empty cows or pregnant cows with greater days in milk.  He also saw a spike in milk production for the low yielders.

In addition to the 12 hour milking interval, part of the associated increase in milk production is associated with improved welfare of the herd as the cows spend less time standing on concrete waiting to be milked.

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