16 January 2024

Keeping the milking parlour running during this cold snap

After a well-earned break, the milking parlour is returning to action on many spring-calving dairy farms nationally. Regardless of your milk production system, be it spring or winter milk, keeping the milking parlour operational during this cold spell is key.

Below are a few points on how to reduce the risk of ice forming in milking machines:

Make sure that all doors into the parlour are kept closed.
Install a thermostatically-controlled heater in the plant room, which should cut in when the temperature falls to 10^oC. Items such as the power washer should be kept in the plant room to prevent the pump from freezing.
Let the machine run a little bit longer to ensure that all excess water is removed from the plant after the final rinse. Open the machine at the low points, particularly at the fitter sock. Some machines may also have a drain at the base of the receiver jar.
Remove the jetters from the claw pieces and let them hang down.
Circulate a saline solution through the milking machine, having first made sure that all the detergent has been rinsed out of the plant. The saline (salt) solution is made by mixing half a kilogramme of salt in 5 gallons of water. Salt will drop the freezing point of water. Rinse before milking to remove salt traces. If the rinse is inclined to freeze, start milking without rinsing and let the first few gallons go to waste.
Diaphragm milk pumps can also cause problems. Open the locking nuts to allow any excess water to escape or alternatively place an infra-red light over it.
As a long-term solution, install a line of infra-red lights above the milk and wash lines. All wiring should be done by a certified electrician.
Close off the entrance to the parlour with plastic sheeting or insulating blanket to reduce the amount of freezing air getting in and to keep as much heat as possible inside.
The machine should be designed in such a way that it drains easily.

Frozen water pipes

The most vulnerable groups of animals to water shortage are milking cows, animals on high concentrate diets and animals fed hay, straw or other very dry feeds.

Milking cows must have access to drinking water at all times. A cow producing 30L of milk and being fed a silage-based diet requires 75-90L (16-20 gallons) of water per day, so it is critical to put a plan in place to account for frozen water pipes.

Where there is an on-farm supply from a deep well, the deep submersible pump should not freeze but pipes and fittings from the pump to the pressure vessel (tank) and from there to the sheds need to be kept free of ice. Other points in this regard, include:

Have a thermostatically-controlled fan heater in the pump-house.
Water pipes to the shed should be underground and any exposed pipes should be insulated.
In very low temperatures, pipes have frozen at the entrance to the shed and inside the shed in the supply to the troughs. In such situations, even when thawed out, they are likely to freeze again. The supply pipe to the troughs could be extended on further out of the house to a tap. This tap can be left to run at a low rate to keep water flowing where there is an on-farm supply source. This option cannot be used if the water is supplied by the Local Authority or Group Scheme.
It may be necessary to bring in an alternative supply to fill water troughs or other containers in the feed passage. It may be possible to tap into the underground supply outside the shed and attach a hose to fill these water containers.
Make sure the connection to the underground supply is well-insulated after use and drain all the water from the connecting hose after filling the containers in the shed.

Remember, if access of livestock to water has been restricted and then suddenly made available, over-drinking or water toxicity can cause health problems and even fatalities in extreme cases. Allow gradual access to water initially, when animals are extremely thirsty.

For more practical advice on managing during challenge weather conditions, visit the Be Winter Ready webpage.