The milking machine is the equivalent of a ‘food factory’ but is often the most neglected piece of machinery on farm, according to Peter Edmondson, a vet at Shepton Veterinary Group.

    Mr Edmondson said poorly maintained parlours could influence the incidence of mastitis on a unit.

    “Parlours can spread infection and if you don’t properly clean units between milkings, it’s possible to transfer staph.aureus to six or eight cows after milking an infected cow.”

    Neil Howie, of Nantwich Veterinary Group, said a back wash system could help solve this but added a note of caution. “Back flushing will take the bugs out of the liner before going onto the cow but this only works if the system and liners are properly maintained.”

    “There is a danger of over-relying on the back flush. It will clean out the liner after a dirty cow but it won’t solve the problems of what is happening outside of the parlour; it does not change infected cows’ cell counts but it will stop the spread.”

    Mr Edmondson added it was important to regularly change liners to avoid spreading infection and increased milking times.

    “The liners should be changed every six months or every 2,500 milkings; whatever is sooner,” he said.

    Teat damage
    He said it was also important to avoid teat damage, which was typically caused by high vacuum levels, over-milking and pulsation problems.

    “It’s really important not to damage the teat end as this is the primary defence against infection. Teat damage always equals high cell counts in cows.”

    To avoid liner slips, which could inject mastitis bacteria up into the teat, he said it was essential to dry teats before milking, replace worn liners and make sure units were properly aligned with the cows.

    “Over-milking is also a disaster. Not just because it is a waste of time but also because it increases the risk of teat damage, high SCC and mastitis.

    “If you have a transparent claw piece on your units, look to see how much milk is coming through and whether the cow is being over-milked.”

    He added it was important to achieve good cow throughput by ensuring staffing levels were sufficient.

    “One milker can handle 16 units if there is ACR. Without ACR this drops down to 12 units a milker. If this is any more the throughput will slow down.”

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