ARRANGEMENT AND METHOD AT A MILKING STATION FOR ACHIEVING A REPRESENTATIVE MILK SAMPLE

摘要

The invention relates to milking equipment, especially automatic equipment provided with means for sampling the milk. The method according to the invention, and the arrangement performing the method, can be implemented in a milking robot to provide samples of milk being extracted during a milking process that is representative in fat content of the extracted total amount of milk. For this purpose, the arrangement comprises means for extracting milk (2, 4) from the animal, a receiver (3), and means for transferring the milk (5) from the receiver to a sampling unit (21), wherein the extracting means is adapted to extract milk from the animal to the receiver. The arrangement further comprises means for stirring the milk (9, 10, 23) and is adapted to stir the milk before transferring a sample part of the milk to the sample unit. It is characterised in comprising means for determining (13) a milk yield of the animal, means for determining (13) a stirring time period on the basis of the milk yield, and the arrangement is adapted to terminate the stirring of the milk when the time period end. By stopping the stirring when the time period ends a satisfactorily stirring can be accomplished without subjecting the milk to excessive stirring.