This document discusses parameters and procedures for fine tuning a milking parlor. It provides details on the Israeli dairy herd, factors that affect milk secretion such as lactation number, climate, milking interval and frequency. Milking cows three times a day can increase milk production by 3-4 kg/cow/day compared to twice daily milking. More frequent milking for only 21 days at the start of lactation may produce carry-over effects and increase total lactation yield. Managing a dairy to milk cows four times per day presents logistical challenges and requires excellent management practices.

1. Fine Tuning Milking Parlor
Parameters and Procedures
Ralph Ginsberg
Udder Health and Milk Quality Specialist
ralph.milk46@gmail.com

2. The Israeli Dairy Herd
 120,000 cows – 795 farms
 ~90% of cows on DHI
 All cows milked in milking
parlors or 49 milking robots
(30 farms)
 80% of cows milked with
electronic milk meters

3. DHI
Udder Health
Lab
AI
Veterinary
Service
Milk
Components
Lab
Udder
Health
Management
A common database with an
integrated data flow system

4. Quota System
 Annual volume is divided into monthly
quotas.
 Economic incentives for for increased
production in “summer” months
 Reduced price for excess milk production
in “winter” months (November – April)
 Quotas can only be traded between milk
farmers and under the auspices of the
Israel Dairy Board

5. 2015
795

6. Lactation
In lactating animals, regular removal
of milk from the mammary gland is
critical for continued milk secretion
and maintaining milk production.

7.  Lactation number
Factors Affecting Milk
Secretion
 Climate
 Interval between Milkings
 Milking frequency
(twice or three times a day)

8. Lactation Number
Milk yield increases (at a decreasing
rate) until about the 8th year of age and
then decrease at an increasing rate.
Mature cows produce about 25% more
milk than first calf heifers.

9. Climate
Optimal temp. for milk production is 6 to
22°C
Humidity 60 to 80% if temp. is below 20°C

10. Climate

11. Climate
Due to the harsh summer conditions in
Israel, milk production in summer
declines to almost 90% of the winter
level.
Intensive cooling almost eliminates the
summer decline in milk production
regardless of the level of production
and reduces about half of the summer
decline in conception rate.

12. Cooling cows in summer
The use of cooling methods in dairy farms
has become an important tool for
increasing milk production and efficiency.

13.  2014 - 12,083 kg/cow/year
 2015 - 11,772 kg/cow/year
August 2015
For three weeks
average
temperatures
reached 400 C in
most parts of the
Country

14. Milking Interval
 In most countries 8-16 hours milking
interval is common practice
due to the labor situation.
 Twelve hour’s interval is the
most optimal milking interval
with twice daily milking,
eight hour’s for three times.
 Milk production (kg milk) increases a few
percentage points with equal intervals
compared to unequal milking intervals.

15. Interval above 14 h decreases milk secretion >2% per h
Milk secretion starts to decline 10 hours
after the previous milking, while udder
pressure is increasing.

16. Milking Interval
Most high yielding cows will not lie down
during the last few hours before milking
indicating that cows with high amounts of
milk in the udder are exposed to a very high
udder pressure which undoubtedly will
cause discomfort.
High yielding cows want to be milked more
frequently than twice or three times a day
when they have their own choice.

17. Milking Frequency
For decades dairy producers
believed that milking cows only
two times a day was the way it
had to be done.

18. Average Milk Production 2015
 Average - 11,772 kg/cow/year
604 Herds; 107,212 Cows
 3 X - 12,054 kg/cow/year
398 Herds; 69,649 Cows 65.9%
 2 X - 11,246 kg/cow/year
176 Herds; 37,563 Cows 29.1%
 Milking Robots
30 Herds; 5,328 Cows 5%

19. Milking Frequency
A summary of 19 research studies
over more than 70 years indicates that
Regardless of milk yield for twice a day
milking, cows milked three times a day
will increase daily milk production from 3
to 4 Kg/cow/ day with a 95% confidence
level.
The average increase was
3.5 Kg/cow/day.

20. Milking Frequency
These studies also showed that milk fat
and protein percent show a slight
decrease as milk production increases,
but overall production of components
increases because of the extra milk by;
milk fat - 90 gr./cow/day
protein - 82 gr./cow/day

21. Milking Frequency
There is plenty of evidence to prove that
cows milked more frequently than twice-daily
have a generally lower incidence of mastitis.
Part of the reason is likely due to factors
such as the reduced pressure in the udder
from more frequent milking
and also removal of keratin
inside the teat cistern and
canal with any bacteria that
are adhering to it.

22. There have been many advances and
improvements in milking equipment
capacity, performance and automation
making it possible for cows and milkers to
spend less time in the milking parlor.
Milking Frequency.

23. Milking Frequency
 Cows need only three to five hours a
day for eating and drinking and
between ten to fourteen hours for
resting and ruminating.
 The remainder of the time is allocated
to travelling to and from the parlor.
Maybe the most important benefit of
more frequent milking is improved
animal welfare and less udder pressure.

24. Milking Frequency
Milking 3X requires an increased level
of feed management to ensure that
cows are fed adequately and with
enough feed bunk space, in order to
maintain proper body condition and
prevent health issues (e.g. lameness,
mastitis) that can
be affected by
the increased
intensity of
production.

25.  Generally three times a day
milking increases milk
production by up to 25%, but
~2/3 of this increase is
due to better feeding and
management and ~1/3 is
due to decreased udder
pressure.
Putting it all together

26.  Three times a day milking also
offers an opportunity to more
effectively and efficiently utilize
milking facilities.
 Another potential benefit of
milking three times a day is
improved udder health and
sometimes even reproductive
performance.
Putting it all together

27. Factors that may limit the ability of
cows to respond with higher milk
production;
Putting it all together
 Poor feed quality
 limited feed bunk space
 environmental stress

28. Factors that may limit the ability of
cows to respond with higher milk
production continued;
Putting it all together
 excessive wait time in holding pens
 long travel distances to and from
the milking parlor
 labor unwilling to milk at
undesirable times of the day.

29. Putting it all together
Producers considering increased
milking frequency must evaluate
whether the increased revenue from
milk and components is sufficient to
cover the increased labor, feed and
utility costs.

30. Many producers who have looked
closely at the economics of their
operations, have switched to three
times a day milking milking to
increase their efficiency and
profitability.
Putting it all together

31. In 1995 Israeli researchers observed
higher production in cows milked six
times a day relative to three times a
day for the first 42 days of lactation.
Cows milked six times a day continued
to yield more milk even after milking
frequency returned to three times a day
Increasing milk production by
increasing milking frequency
to four times a day.

33. Further Studies also showed that
frequent milking (four or six times) for
only 21 days at the beginning of the
lactation may not only increase milk
yield during the frequent milking period,
but also produce carry-over effects that
last well into lactation.

34. These results were of particular
importance since it was shown the
milking interval, could be as little as 2.5
- 3 hours after the previous milking
thereby allowing for cows to be milked
at the beginning and end of the same
milking shift, and with relatively little
added labor.
Increasing milk production by
increasing milking frequency
to four times a day.

35. Management and logistic
problems with four times a
day milking

36. Managing a dairy wanting to
change to four times a day milking
can be compared to a racing car
that in order to win a race needs:
 An excellent driver
 High octane fuel
 Superior tires
 A good technical team

37. Walking distance to the milking
parlor and time in the holding pen
had to be taken into account in
order to ensure that cows returned
to their pens quickly with enough
time to,
eat, drink,
rest and
ruminate.

38. The fact that the size and composition
of the fresh cow group changes
according to the rate of calving led to
logistic problems with cow housing
and grouping.
Excellent feed management was
needed in order to help prevent any
health or reproductive
complications associated with
higher milk yields.

39. Optimal cow throughput, milking
procedures, proficiency of the
milkers and operation of the
milking equipment are needed to
shorten milking time minimize the
possibility of udder infections.

40. The need for excellent
management practices and
changes in the cow's routine, in
order to benefit from an extra
milking, led to farmers
eventually abandoning this
concept and to use other
management strategies in order
to fine tune milking procedures.

41. Thank you for your attention
now is the time for questions
Now you know how I feel with
improved milking parameters