Making milking faster and easier

Making milking faster and easier

DairyNZ has launched a programme for farmers aimed at improving the milk harvesting efficiency on New Zealand dairy farms.

“Milksmart is concerned not only with milking, but with the whole milk harvesting process, from collecting the cows from the paddock and milking, to clean-up and the return of the cows,” says DairyNZ Developer and project leader, Samantha Palmer.

The programme allows a farmer to complete a comprehensive self-assessment of the milk harvesting operation and then compare their performance against other farmers.

“The smallest change in the dairy shed can stack up to important savings in both time and costs over a whole season,” says Samantha.

The programme is presented via a website and a series of workshops.

The farmer or farm manager will be able to enter the Milksmart website via the DairyNZ website or directly on www.milksmart.co.nz. Once in the site and registered, they will be asked to complete a farm assessment of their milking operation.

The easy to use assessment has been broken down into key areas, so farmers can choose to focus on one specific area of concern, or spend time working through the whole assessment to get a big picture overview of their farm’s milk harvesting efficiency.

Having completed the assessment, a report will be generated indicating areas which may need improvement. Simple prompts will then direct farmers to the appropriate area of the online guide, where they can read information specifically tailored to improve efficiency and choose from a range of resources designed to address the problem area.

There will also be a series of Milksmart products geared toward milk harvesting efficiency, centred on systems designed to encourage better communication, tools to improve staff training and promote good practice.

Milksmart workshops will run over four consecutive years, with a different topic covered each year: 2010 – Milker comfort and routine, 2011 – Animal behaviour and cow flow, 2012 – Short milking times, 2013 – Technology.

“These workshops are an opportunity to have a hands-on look at the milking process. They will be presented by milk harvesting experts on a working farm where participants can see real problems solved,” says Samantha.

This year’s workshops will be held on-farm throughout November – during peak milking – to get better results from assessments. There will be a total of 19 workshops held throughout New Zealand.

To find out more visit the website: www.milksmart.co.nz. To sign-up to take part in one of this year’s DairyNZ Milksmart Milker Comfort and Routine workshops visit dairynz.co.nz/milksmart or call the DairyNZ Farmer Information Service on 0800 4 DAIRYNZ (0800 4 324 7969). Free for levy paying dairy farmers, there are only 50 places available per workshop so book early to avoid disappointment.

ENDS

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