Getting
Down and
Dirty on
the dairy
farm with
Emma
& Jet
http://www.slideshare.net/LandLearnNSW/

Emma and Jet
• My name is Emma I am 16. As part
of my HSC I am doing a dairy
traineeship at Clover Hill Dairies
• My name is Jet. I am also doing a
dairy traineeship with Alan and
Leesa Swan at Hillview Dairy

Hi
I’m Jet
Hi
I’m
Emma

What are Emma
and Jet going to
talk about
today? Today we are going to
tell the farm to fridge
story starting with
harvesting the milk on
farm and its journey to
your breakfast cereal
bowl

Cream of the Crop Competition
Dairy Youth Australia and Landlearn NSW have launched
the Cream of the Crop Competition - a great opportunity
for NSW students to win $1000 and get published
• The Cream of the Crop Competition is open to students in
NSW Secondary Schools and Tertiary Institutions studying
Agriculture, Primary Industries or Natural Resource
Management related topics.
• There is over $4500 in prize money on offer with an awards
ceremony scheduled for the Sydney Royal Easter Show,
2010.
• For full details and entry form visit:
www.dairyyouthaustralia.com.au/competition
Enter and
win $1000

Update on farm yard
happenings
•Tanika joins the team
•The Silkies have babies
•Filming for a new
commercial

Recently Jet’s sister
Tanika started to
do some morning
milkings.

And our home grown
fertiliser team are now
proud parents of 8 mini
fertiliser producers
Aren't they just adorable

There was one little guy who
mum and dad discarded.
So we took him inside , gave
him a blow dry to warm him
up, put him under a light ,
treated him like royalty and a
week later he is bigger than all
his brothers and sisters - Aah
the gift of life such a good
feeling

No Pick
I can tell you Toby was searching for the cow
me
with the prettiest face
Pick me
No Pick
me
http://www.tobydixon.com/

Details of the photo shoot is all
hush hush
This is Tamiko and Toby from
the agency and the cow in hiding
is Toni one of our special cows
who has just been classified
90 2EX points for good looks

What is classification
• Classification means we have our cows
evaluated by an independent trained
professional.
Why do we classify our cows?
1. Classification will help you make the right
breeding decisions based on factual information.
2. Get an unbiased opinion from a professional
who sees the best animals and herds in the
country.
3. Get the bottom line score on your cows.

So what does 90 2Ex mean
• So 90 2EX means Toni has been classified
excellent by an independent expert twice
• However Toby and Tamiko have since
declared Fond (also classified 90 Ex) has the
prettiest face and will be the Face of ??
(watch this space)

Lets get down in the pit and watch
the milking
In “Milk It” we talked about the preparation
for milking and the importance of ensuring
the cows have a stress free journey walking to
and from the dairy
http://www.slideshare.net/LandLearnNSW/dairy-farming-with-jet-and-emma-milk-it

We built our new
dairy in 2002 .
Our old dairy only
had 10 milking
machines.
http://www.dairyindustrysa.com.au/for_farmers/starting_a_dairy

This is our
dairy plan

Our new dairy has 28
machines . It is very
energy efficient and one
person can do the
milking by themselves.
It’s a lot more fun when
two people work
together.

Cow
Comfort
In our dairy
not only do
the cows
have plenty
of shade
they also
have a 360
degree view
of the ocean
and the
hinterland

Waiting
patiently

Taking care of the
environment
We know our cows
and dairying
generate
greenhouse (GHG)
gases

Dairy Greenhouse Gas Calculator
CO2 -Energy
N2O - Soils
This is
11%
0% N2O - Dung, Urine & Spread
13%
N2O - N Fertiliser
2% Clover Hill
N2O - Effluent
Dairies
ponds
0%
Green House
Gas Emission
break down
CH4 - Effluent ponds
2%
CH4 - Enteric
72%
http://www.greenhouse.unimelb.edu.au/site/Tools.htm

To reduce Greenhouse
Gases
we have planted
many shrubs and
grasses around our
dairy

Our dairy is designed
to make the most of
natural renewable
energy to reduce the
need for non
renewable energy
like electricity
Note the use of
natural light reduces
the need to
Use electric lights

The dairy is bright
and airy and we
enjoy being milked
Here is Emma
putting cups on
some of my friends

Cow time on concrete,
Cow comfort
effluent collection on
hard surfaces
use of renewable
energy sources All the
positives in
a nutshell!!!

It takes ten
minutes to
milk a cow
The farmer stands in the pit in
the centre so the cows udder is
at shoulder height and he/she
does not have to bend over to
work
There is one row of cows each
side of the pit with the cow’s
udder closest to the pit. The
cows on each side walk in as a
group, they are all milked
together and then leave
together so the next group
can move in.

How many cows?
How Much milk?
What do the cows eat?
• Currently we are milking 210 cows and send 2.5 million
litres to our milk processor each year
• Our cows eat about 26kg of Dry Matter ( feed with the
water taken out) per day
– 60% is grass
– 40% is fed to the cows in the dairy
• In the dairy we fed mainly wheat and corn and pellets
• The pellets contain lots of things including
different types of grains and vitamins and
Don’t mind a bit
minerals of grain myself

Why do we feed in the dairy
• Feeding in the dairy helps encourage the cows
to come into to be milked
• Feeding in the dairy also means each cow will
produce more milk
• Feeding high energy concentrates ( pellets feed
and grain) also reduces Greenhouse Gas
Emissions
http://www.greenhouse.unimelb.edu.au/site/BMP_Dairy_Farm.htm

This is the outside of our dairy
Can you see all the silos that hold the
feed for us to eat in the dairy??

The grain is harvested by a
machine called a header
Here the header is putting
the wheat into a truck to
bring to the farm to store in
the silo

Grain auger The top of the
This end feeds the grain auger sits on
out of the truck the top of the
The auger is attached to silo and drops
the tractor which powers the grain in
the motor on the auger
which pushes the grain to
the top
The motor on
the auger is
driven by the
PTO on the
tractor

So what is a PTO??
• A power take-off (PTO) is a splined
driveshaft, usually on a tractor or truck, that
can be used to provide power to an
attachment or separate machine. It is
designed to be easily connected and
disconnected. The power take-off allows
implements to draw energy from the tractor's
engine

Every thing works with motors driven
by a computer.
From the silos a mixture of grains is fed
into the vertical mixer.
The vertical mixer holds 3 tonne just
enough to feed all of us for one day
From the vertical mixer the feed goes
to individual feed bins above each cow
stall .

This is the computer
in the dairy that
operates the
automatic feeders

Before each row of cows comes into be milked
the farmer presses the yellow button and this
drops the same amount of feed in for all cows .
The red and green buttons allow the farmer to
give individual cows extra feed if they are big
milk producers.

Each cow has its own special feed bin and stall.
Entry to the stall and feed bin is controlled by
St Christopher Gates.
The first cow goes to the top of the row and
pushes n the bar with her chest and this opens
the next stall and so on and so. The last bar
shuts the gate so no more cows can come in.

So if I am first in the
row
I walk to the top
stall and push this
bar which opens the
next stall for my
friend etc . Clever
isn't it and all this
works by hydraulics
using water we
recycle

What type of dairy do we have
• Our dairy is called a Herringbone
• The cows stand side by side at 90 degrees to
the person milking
• Which means the milking machines are put
on from the back of the cow
• In 45 degree dairies the milking machines are
put on from the side

We get lots of visitors and
every-one loves to watch
Our dairy is very
people friendly
Recently one of
Emma’s teachers
came to watch the
cows milked and
his wife took
many of the
photos you will see

How does the milk get from the
cow to the vat ( big refrigerator)
• A hose is connected to the machine that
hangs behind each cow
• On the end of each hose are four teat cups
(milking machines)
• The four teat cups are called a cluster
• The cups are put gently on each cow and the
machine start milking the cow

Can you see
the hoses
that are
connected to the
milking
machines?

The cows
stands at 90
degrees and
Emma puts
the machines
on between
the cows back
legs

Nick is explaining to
Tanika on her first
day cows are just like
people. Each one is
different and has its
own personality
Its very important
each cow is relaxed
and happy so she will
give her milk
Its also important to
work quickly
and quietly

How does the milking machine
work
• The milk is sucked out of the udder just the way
calves do
• The machine makes a vacuum by pulling the air
out of the teat cup
• The machines use a pump to make the vacuum
• The pump also has to let air into the space
between the teat cup and the lining of the teat
cup so it squeezes and relaxes out as the
milk is being sucked out

A computer operated board
turns the vacuum on and off
to the cluster
of the milking machine

Michael is explaining to the
students from Tullimbar Public
School how the vacuum pump
works

He lets them put a
very clean finger in
to feel the suction

Every 3 months
we have the
liners ( rubber
tubes on the
cluster)
replaced by a
professional to
ensure we have
the correct
vacuum

Cups Off
• We have automatic cluster take off in our
dairy
• This means the cups come off themselves
when the flow of milk reduces to a specified
level OUCH !!!
You need to make sure you stand in
the middle of the pit when you are
waiting for the cows to finish milking.
This is because the machines swing
around when they come off and can
hit you in the head which isn't much
fun !!!!!!

Can you spot the
computer board
that operates the
automatic take-
off

http://www.slideshare.net/LandLearnNSW/picasso-cows-2008-mt-terry-ps-1066314

Courtesy of
Mt Terry
Public
School

When the cups come
off the farmer
sprays an iodine
solution on the cow’s
udder.
Special attention is
paid to spraying all
four teats to prevent
infections.
This is what Tanika
is
doing

Cups off and
ready to go

First we make
sure we have
eaten all our
feed . It would
be a shame to
leave some
behind

We all line up in groups of 14 on each
side and we all leave together
If the farmer wants to separate us he
activates the drafting gate

And off we
go

Cows drink most of their
daily water at the trough at
the dairy
So it is very important this
trough is always clean .
Emma cleans this trough
every Saturday morning

What a life – million $ views
Back to the
paddock for the
girls

Meanwhile back at the dairy
Where does the milk go then…..
• From the teat cups the milk goes into a hose and
then into stainless steel pipes which run along the
milking shed above the cows
• When the milk leaves the cows udder it is 37
degrees C
• The pipes take the milk to be cooled to 4 degrees
C

This is the milk
receiver bowl
It collects the
milk and a trip
switch operates
the pump which
pumps the milk
through the steel
pipes to the milk
vat

Before the
milk is
chilled it
goes
through a
very big
filter to
ensure the
milk is
very very
clean

This is the plate cooler.
It has a very important
job and it must do it as
energy efficiently as
possible
www.cowtime.com.au/technical/QuickNotes/Quicknote%204.6.pdf

What does a plate cooler do?
The plate cooler is a simple heat exchanger that captures
the heat of warm milk and transfers it to the cold incoming
water.
There are two distinct benefits:
1. Milk is pre-cooled - by the time is reaches the refrigerated
storage tank ( vat)
2. Water that needs heating for varied uses is pre-warmed.
Milk leaves a cow’s body at 37 degrees centigrade and must
be cooled quickly to less than 4 degrees. Milk cooling is a
significant percentage of a dairy farm’s electricity costs. An
in-line plate cooler lowers the milk’s temperature before milk
enters the bulk tank to be cooled further. Plate coolers cool
milk quickly, which helps lower bacteria counts and is easier
on compressors

How does a plate cooler save
money and energy ?
• In-line pre-cooling significantly reduces
cooling and agitation time. When pre-cooled
milk is pumped into the vat, compressors
usually finish the cooling in only 10 to 15
minutes.
• When the bulk tank has to do all the cooling,
the compressors may run 30 minutes or more.
• An in-line cooler is one of the best energy
investments in a dairy operation.

How does it work
• In-line plate coolers run water and milk in opposite
flow channels over a series of metal plates.
• Milk is cooled as its heat is transferred to the cool
water on the opposite side of each plate.
• Depending on the system, plate coolers can drop milk
temperature by 30 degrees or more. Variables include
the temperature of the water, the ratio of water to
milk in litres per minute, and how many times the
milk passes through the cold water channels.
• In line cooling has been called virtually free cooling
because the water used to cool milk can be recycled
for the livestock or barn chores.

The pipes then
take the chilled
milk to a big tank
called a milk vat
which stores the
milk between
2.5 degrees C
and
4 degrees C

Some of the
milk is
collected in
these milk
drums to feed
the calves

And the big clean up begins
• Firstly everything gets hosed of with a big
pressure hose
• The manure in the holding yard is washed
down a drain into a solids trap and the
effluent ( manure and urine and water ) then
goes to a big tank
• From the big tank the effluent is used as
fertiliser and is irrigated onto the paddocks

Retain Retain Recycle reuse
Retain
Reuse Reuse
Recycle
Recycle

Computerised washing up
• Even the washing up is driven by a computer (
well almost everything)
• All the milking machines and the stainless steel
pipes which carry the milk have an acid and
then an alkaline wash
• The vat also gets washed every time the milk is
picked up by the milk factory. The tanker driver
sets the computer in motion
• The factory takes milk samples every time they
come to ensure the milk you drink is perfect in
every way

Cleaning the milk machines
The milking machines
are put on the milking
machine holders for
washing
The detergents
(acids and alkalis )
are then forced up
each cup to ensure
thorough cleaning

As I said
almost
Glad this isn't
my job everything
is washed
by the
computer
except all
the buckets

2

6
4
Adapted from How Now Aussie
Cow – Dairy Australia

More info? Web links
http://www.dairyindustrysa.com.au/for_farmers/starting_a_dairy
http://www.dairyingfortomorrow.com/
http://www.countdown.org.au/
http://www.greenhouse.unimelb.edu.au
http://www.cowtime.com.au/
http://www.dairyfarmenergy.com/

Visit our new Website
www.dairyyouthaustralia.com.au

The Jet and Emma Series is a Dairy Youth
Australia inc initiative assisted by Kiama
Municipal Council through its Sustainable
Living Grants Program.

Jet and Emma Farm Management
Education Series K to 12
Links
Milk It
http://www.slideshare.net/LandLearnNSW/dairy-farming-with-jet-and-emma-milk-it
Cups On Cups Off
http://www.slideshare.net/LandLearnNSW/dairy-farming-with-jet-and-emma-cups-on-cups-off
Grow Grass Grow
http://www.slideshare.net/LandLearnNSW/dairy-farming-with-jet-and-emma
Seeding Time
http://www.slideshare.net/LandLearnNSW/dairy-farming-with-jet-and-emma-seeding-time-1236604
How it all began – a Taste for Dairy
http://www.slideshare.net/LandLearnNSW/jet-and-emma-a-taste-for-dairy
Healthy Landscapes
http://www.slideshare.net/LandLearnNSW/dairy-farming-with-jet-and-emma-healthy-landscape-1641792
Circle of Life – Calf to Cow
http://www.slideshare.net/LandLearnNSW/circle-of-life-calf-to-cow

Acknowledgements
Farm yard animal graphics have been created
for the “Jet and Emma Get Down and Dirty
on the Farm” series by students from Mt Terry
Public School

Watch
this
space
we will
be back
soon