Reduced Labor Costs when Using a Flow-controlled Vacuum in Rotary Milking Parlors

摘要

Current vacuum levels of milking parlors are constant and a trade-off between milk flowrate and teat health. A milk flow-controlled vacuum (FCV; DeLaval), being an increased vacuum during peak milk flow, results in a higher milk flow and therefore shorter milking duration (Reinemann et al., 2020) without negatively impacting teat health (Feierabend et al., 2020). The speed of a rotary milking parlor can thus be increased, resulting in a shorter total milking time with lower associated labor costs. This study estimated the yearly savings of decreasing the milking duration of cows in large dairy herds with a rotary milking parlor by using a FCV system.