Calf rearers say goodbye to leaky teats, poor feeder fit
Leaky teats and poor feeder fit are now a thing of the past for calf rearers - thanks to the Thriver range of calf teats from Skellerup.
Filling the vat with the best milk you can produce is a financial advantage, says milking liner maker Skellerup.
Studies have shown hefty production gains from maintaining good milk quality, the company says. For example, halving bulk milk somatic cell counts (BMSCC) from 300,000 to 150,000 is estimated to increase total season milksolids by 2.1%
In general, the lower your somatic cell count (SCC) and the fewer grades incurred during lactation, the more efficient and thorough is your milking process.
Attention to detail and a preventative approach go a long way towards improving milk quality, and this is the ideal time of year to review your system, says Skellerup. A key question to ask is: when did we last replace the liners?
Milking liners are the one item in direct contact with the cow. During each lactation she typically spends 50-100 hours attached to the machine, via those liners.
“Milking liners are hidden inside the shells, so you can’t see what happens to them when they wear out,” says Skellerup national manager Perry Davis.
“The first thing you might see instead is a cow kicking the cluster off, damaged teat ends or a surprisingly high BSCC on the milk docket.”
Worn, poor-fitting liners can leave milk in the udder, slip off the teat and/or leave permanent rings at the top of the teat. And any internal cracks in the rubber are an ideal environment for bacteria.
Skellerup offers an easy way to check if milking liners are due for replacement: go to www.2500change.co.nz and fill in the required fields or use a calculator to work out how many times they’ve been used since they were installed.
If it’s 2500 or more, it’s time to change, Davis says.
Boutique Waikato cheese producer Meyer Cheese is investing in a new $3.5 million facility, designed to boost capacity and enhance the company's sustainability credentials.
OPINION: The Government's decision to rule out changes to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) that would cost every farmer thousands of dollars annually, is sensible.
Compensation assistance for farmers impacted by Mycoplama bovis is being wound up.
Selecting the reverse gear quicker than a lovestruck boyfriend who has met the in-laws for the first time, the Coalition Government has confirmed that the proposal to amend Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) charged against farm utes has been canned.
Holstein Friesian excellence was front and centre at the 2025 Holstein Friesian NZ (HFNZ) Awards, held recently in Invercargill.
The work Fonterra has done with Ballance Agri-Nutrients Ltd, LIC and Ravensdown to save farmers time through better data connections has been recognised with a national award.
OPINION: Years of floods and low food prices have driven a dairy farm in England's northeast to stop milking its…
OPINION: An animal activist organisation is calling for an investigation into the use of dairy cows in sexuallly explicit content…