increase font size
Milk cooling accounts for 30% of total energy costs of the dairy.
Milk cooling affects milk quality: the quicker the milk is cooled after milking, the better the quality when it is collected from the farm.
Choosing the right cooling system for your farm has many good results.
Lower energy costs: milk cooling accounts for about 30% of the total energy costs of operating a dairy. Energy demand and farm dairy running costs can be cut by heat recovery from your cooling system.
Less risk of penalties due to milk temperature: raw milk grows bacteria rapidly above 7°C. Meeting the new milk cooling standards (in force from June 2018) may mean changes are required for your system.
New milk cooling standards: the MPI ‘NZ code of practice for the design and operation of farm dairies’ contains the new milk cooling standards.
The rules state that raw milk must:
a) be cooled to 10°C or below within four hours of the commencement of milking; and
b) be cooled to 6°C or below within the sooner of:
i) six hours from the commencement of milking, or
ii) two hours from the completion of milking; and
c) be held at or below 6°C without freezing until collection or the next milking; and
d) must not exceed 10°C during subsequent milkings.
Continuous or extended milking systems (AMS): in situations where there is continuous or extended milking, such as automated milking systems, the milk must enter the bulk milk tank at 6°C or below.
‘Continuous or extended milking’ is defined as milking for six hours or longer from the time the milk first enters any bulk milk tank.
Do you meet the new standards? Check the performance of your current plate heat exchanger.
Consult with your milk company to determine if your current system will meet the new milk chilling requirements.
Fonterra has a tool to estimate your vats; other milk companies may have similar resources.
With a third of NZ dairy farmers still running outdated refrigerants, the country's largest farm refrigeration company says the opportunity for quick, meaningful emissions gains has never been clearer.
Farmers are being encouraged to take a closer look at the refrigerants running inside their on-farm systems, as international and domestic pressure continues to build on high global warming potential (GWP) 400-series refrigerants.
Bovonic says a return on investment study has found its automated mastitis detection technology, QuadSense, is delivering financial, labour, and animal-health benefits on New Zealand dairy farms worth an estimated $29,547 per season.
As spring calving farmers around the country enter in the final stage of lactation, the incentive to keep the milk flowing is certainly there. A strong milk price and kind first half of the season has left cows in good nick and milking well.
Correct cluster attachment and removal is crucial during milking.
LIC shareholders have elected a new North Island representative to the co-operative's Board, along with five representatives to its Shareholder Reference Group (SRG), following the company's Annual Meeting held in Invercargill.
Farmers across parts of Southland and South Otago are continuing to deal with difficult conditions after a prolonged run of wet weather, with pressure building around feed supply, stock management, pasture damage, farm infrastructure and everyday workloads.
Federated Farmers says it welcomes Labour's commitment to reviewing the Sharemilking Agreements Act, calling on other major parties to do the same.
For Canterbury dairy farmers Sian Meijer and Rick Wobben, wearable technology has become one of their most valuable on-farm tools - helping manage 1850 cows across an expansive, high-performing dairy operation while improving efficiency, mating outcomes and day-to-day decision making.
Fonterra has unveiled its annual results for the 2026 financial year, posting $27 billion in revenue and close to $20 billion returned to New Zealand farmer owners and unit holders.
The first major update to the Dairy Cattle Code of Welfare in more than a decade has been released, marking what DairyNZ describes as an important step in ensuring animal welfare standards continue to evolve alongside scientific evidence and on-farm realities.
OPINION: It seems Canterbury processor Synlait is still in the doldrums.
OPINION: Get offside with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters at your own peril.
