Elevated cluster take-off level and the risk of dry off in dairy cows
To achieve a profitable milk production in a more and more automated dairy production, well adapted milking equipment and milking routines are essential. Many factors affect the milk production and the possibilities to enhance production. Different settings for take off level in the milking stations...
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| Formato: | H2 |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés sueco |
| Publicado: |
SLU/Dept. of Animal Nutrition and Management (until 231231)
2016
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| Materias: |
| _version_ | 1855571491348807680 |
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| author | Pettersson, Hanna |
| author_browse | Pettersson, Hanna |
| author_facet | Pettersson, Hanna |
| author_sort | Pettersson, Hanna |
| collection | Epsilon Archive for Student Projects |
| description | To achieve a profitable milk production in a more and more automated dairy production, well adapted milking equipment and milking routines are essential. Many factors affect the milk production and the possibilities to enhance production. Different settings for take off level in the milking stations is one example. Research has shown that automatic cluster removal (ACR) can be possible to adjust for increased milk production. By increased ACR thresholds on the last milked udder quarter production can be rationalized. However there is a notion that increased ACR threshold increase the risk of drying off that udder quarter due to incomplete milkings.
The aim of this study was therefor to examine the risk of drying off an udder quarter by increased ACR threshold on the last milked quarter from 210 g/min to 500 g/min. A crossover design was used on three different farms provided with DeLaval automatic milking equipment (VMS™). Two different treatments were used on 236 dairy cows divided into two even groups on each farm. Treatment A (control) used ACR threshold 210 g/min on all four udder quarters and treatment B (elevated) ACR threshold 210 g/min on the first three milked quarters and 500 g/min on the last milked quarter. The trial proceeded for eight weeks, with treatment A and B interspersed between the two groups the first four weeks. The remaining four weeks one group got treatment A and the other treatment B. Data was automatically recorded in the VMS station and exported to Excel for further analysis in a PROC MIXED model in SAS version 9.4.
The effect of treatment on milk yield, milking time and milk flow was analyzed and the results showed no significant difference on milk yield or milk flow between treatments. There was a significant difference in milking time the first four weeks, with longer milking duration for treatment B. No significant treatment effect on milking time could be seen the last four weeks but a shorter milking duration for treatment B could be noted. The results also showed that the last quarter being milked varied between milkings, both between cows and within individual cows.
To increase the ACR threshold from 210 g/min to 500 g/min on the last milked udder quarter had no effect on milk yield and showed no risk of drying off a quarter. These results are in line with previous studies and the fact that the last quarter being milked varies, could contribute to decreased risk of incomplete milkings. However, more research would be beneficial to further investigate the effects. |
| format | H2 |
| id | RepoSLU9274 |
| institution | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences |
| language | Inglés swe |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publishDateSort | 2016 |
| publisher | SLU/Dept. of Animal Nutrition and Management (until 231231) |
| publisherStr | SLU/Dept. of Animal Nutrition and Management (until 231231) |
| record_format | eprints |
| spelling | RepoSLU92742016-08-02T11:25:44Z Elevated cluster take-off level and the risk of dry off in dairy cows Höjd avtagningsnivå och risken för sinläggning hos mjölkkor Pettersson, Hanna automatic cluster take-off elevated cluster take-off ACR threshold dry off last quarter quarter level dairy cows To achieve a profitable milk production in a more and more automated dairy production, well adapted milking equipment and milking routines are essential. Many factors affect the milk production and the possibilities to enhance production. Different settings for take off level in the milking stations is one example. Research has shown that automatic cluster removal (ACR) can be possible to adjust for increased milk production. By increased ACR thresholds on the last milked udder quarter production can be rationalized. However there is a notion that increased ACR threshold increase the risk of drying off that udder quarter due to incomplete milkings. The aim of this study was therefor to examine the risk of drying off an udder quarter by increased ACR threshold on the last milked quarter from 210 g/min to 500 g/min. A crossover design was used on three different farms provided with DeLaval automatic milking equipment (VMS™). Two different treatments were used on 236 dairy cows divided into two even groups on each farm. Treatment A (control) used ACR threshold 210 g/min on all four udder quarters and treatment B (elevated) ACR threshold 210 g/min on the first three milked quarters and 500 g/min on the last milked quarter. The trial proceeded for eight weeks, with treatment A and B interspersed between the two groups the first four weeks. The remaining four weeks one group got treatment A and the other treatment B. Data was automatically recorded in the VMS station and exported to Excel for further analysis in a PROC MIXED model in SAS version 9.4. The effect of treatment on milk yield, milking time and milk flow was analyzed and the results showed no significant difference on milk yield or milk flow between treatments. There was a significant difference in milking time the first four weeks, with longer milking duration for treatment B. No significant treatment effect on milking time could be seen the last four weeks but a shorter milking duration for treatment B could be noted. The results also showed that the last quarter being milked varied between milkings, both between cows and within individual cows. To increase the ACR threshold from 210 g/min to 500 g/min on the last milked udder quarter had no effect on milk yield and showed no risk of drying off a quarter. These results are in line with previous studies and the fact that the last quarter being milked varies, could contribute to decreased risk of incomplete milkings. However, more research would be beneficial to further investigate the effects. För att uppnå en effektiv mjölkproduktion krävs väl anpassad mjölkningsutrustning och anpassade mjölkningsrutiner, utefter mjölkkornas och gårdens förutsättningar, speciellt i en allt mer automatiserad produktion. Ett stort antal faktorer påverkar mjölkproduktionen och möjligheterna till effektivisering, inställningarna i mjölkningsrobotarna är en sådan faktor. Forskning pågår ständigt för att finna optimala inställningar och vid vilket mjölkflöde avtagning av spenkopparna bör ske är en av de funktioner som testas. Forskningsresultat indikerar att det kan vara möjligt att öka mjölkningseffektiviteten genom förhöjd avtagningsnivå. Det ifrågasätts dock om höjd avtagningsnivå kan orsaka ofullständiga mjölkningar, vilket i sin tur skulle kunna leda till ofrivillig sinläggning. Syftet med föreliggande studie var därför att utvärdera risken för sinläggning om avtagningsnivån på den sist mjölkade spenen höjdes från 210 g/min till 500 g/min. En crossover studie genomfördes på tre olika gårdar som hade DeLavals automatiska mjölkningssystem (VMS™). Två olika behandlingar användes (A och B) och totalt 236 mjölkkor, uppdelade i två grupper på vardera gård, ingick i försöket. Behandling A (kontroll) hade ett mjölkflöde på 210 g/min på alla fyra spenarna vid avtagning av spenkopparna och behandling B (förhöjd) hade avtagningsnivån 210 g/min på de tre första mjölkade spenarna och 500 g/min på den sist mjölkade spenen. Totalt genomfördes åtta veckors försök där behandlingen varvades mellan grupp 1 och 2 de första 4 försöksveckorna. De 4 sista veckorna i försöksperioden tilldelades en grupp behandling A och den andra behandling B. Data registrerades automatiskt vid varje mjölkning i mjölkningsroboten och exporterades sedan till Excel där data sammanställdes, för att därefter analyseras i en PROC MIX-model i SAS version 9.4. Effekten på mjölkmängd, mjölkningstid och mjölkflöde analyserades. Resultaten visade ingen signifikant skillnad på mjölkmängd eller mjölkflöde mellan behandling A och B. En signifikant skillnad i mjölkningstid kunde ses mellan behandlingarna de första 4 veckorna, med längre mjölkningstider för behandling B. De sista 4 veckorna kunde ingen signifikant skillnad urskiljas. Resultaten visade också att den sist mjölkade spenen varierar mellan mjölkningar, både mellan kor och inom individer. Att höja avtagningsnivån på den sist mjölkade spenen från 210 g/min till 500 g/min hade ingen påverkan på mjölkmängden och ökade inte risken för sinläggning. Dessa resultat stämmer överens med tidigare forskning och det faktum att den sist mjölkade spenen varierar kan bidra till minskad risk för ofullständiga mjölkningar. Ytterligare forskning vore dock fördelaktigt för att utvärdera effekterna vidare. SLU/Dept. of Animal Nutrition and Management (until 231231) 2016 H2 eng swe https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/9274/ |
| spellingShingle | automatic cluster take-off elevated cluster take-off ACR threshold dry off last quarter quarter level dairy cows Pettersson, Hanna Elevated cluster take-off level and the risk of dry off in dairy cows |
| title | Elevated cluster take-off level and the risk of dry off in dairy cows |
| title_full | Elevated cluster take-off level and the risk of dry off in dairy cows |
| title_fullStr | Elevated cluster take-off level and the risk of dry off in dairy cows |
| title_full_unstemmed | Elevated cluster take-off level and the risk of dry off in dairy cows |
| title_short | Elevated cluster take-off level and the risk of dry off in dairy cows |
| title_sort | elevated cluster take-off level and the risk of dry off in dairy cows |
| topic | automatic cluster take-off elevated cluster take-off ACR threshold dry off last quarter quarter level dairy cows |