Milking machine is good equipment in a dairy farm and most farmers are opting for it to improve their milk productivity and to protect the cows from health events such as mastitis,but before you go ahead and purchase one, first look at the factors you should consider as I have discussed in this article.
Milking is one of the major routines in dairy farming and it has had its’ fair share of challenges especially the traditional hand milking which proved to be ineffective and inefficient, thus the use of milking machines which looked to offer a lot of solutions to farmers but before going ahead and purchasing one these are the main factors you should consider;
Automatic take-offs
When choosing a milking machine for your farm, check whether the machine has milk flow sensors whose purpose is to determine whether the machine should be removed from the udder or not, which prevents overmilking and helps in the standardization of your milking system improving productivity.
Cost
When acquiring any equipment cost will always be a concern so if you are planning to install a cow milking machine you should check your accounts since the cow milking machine price is relatively high but when we do a cost-benefit analysis, it is a worthy investmentas it will improve productivity thus bringing in more income from milk sale.
Power supply
Most of these machines are powered by electricity and power surges and blackoutscan never be predetermined, so in order to ensure that productivity is not tampered with, your cattle should always have complete milking and this can only be achieved by having machines that are internally installed with combustion engines and have a back power source.
Pulsation rate
A cow’s teats are classified in two that is the fore and the rear quarter teats and they differ in size and milk ejection rate since the rear quarter teats usually are large in size and take more time than the forequarter teats to eject milk. So, a machine with two pulsation rates is highly recommended for improved milking efficacy.
Size of your livestock
When buying a milking machine, you should consider the number of cows you want to use on, as machinesvary, we have those that are manually emptied i.e., the one bucket type and those that are completely automated. If you are a small-scale farmer the one bucket machine will just be good for you but if you’re a large-scale farmer you better go for the fully automated machine.
Milk production
It is always advised to purchase what you need so when you have cows that produce large levels of milk it might be a hassle to manually milk them hence the need to acquire a milking machine which is more effective and will improve your milk production and ensure good health of your livestock but it will be inappropriate to install a milking machine for a low-level milk-producing cow.
Conclusion
As discussed, there are major factors to consider before purchasing and installing a cow milking machine and if you are a farmer, it is highly advised to keenly read and compare with your needs and choose a machine that will best meet your needs and whether you are in position to smoothly operate it.
