Cow Hygiene and Milking. The importance of doing it right!

AL

Cow Hygiene and Milking

The well-being of cows depends largely on how they are managed by humans. A number of factors can affect their well-being, including taking care of their health and accommodation, space, transport conditions, and so on. Good hygiene standards are of great importance for the quality of milk and its products. Thus, the veterinarian should assist the cow farmer to take action on dairy farm management activities (housing, feeding, milking and health issues) for the production of clean and hygienic milk. The consumer wants a safe product and the dairy company needs good quality milk for processing.

Milk treatment radically affects the quality of the final product. Before starting activities related to improving the hygiene of the stable, cows, breasts and milk, during the milking process, veterinarians, milk collectors and farmers should discuss: (i) the factors that influence the occurrence of clinical mastitis; and subclinical, (ii) the knowledge and information needed to improve breast health and prevent mastitis, and most importantly, (iii) how to make farmers aware of how to improve cow health on dairy farms.

Furthermore, the first thing to do for each farm is to complete a questionnaire in order to gather information on the level of knowledge of farmers about milk hygiene, mastitis and other diseases, as well as some general information on the production and the welfare of cows.

Our visit to a dairy farm begins with the farm environment. Proper management of the environment improves the production performance of animals, minimizes animal diseases, and problems with their behavior. The farm premises include all housing structures, structures for holding the necessary tools, partitions, boxes, corridors, as well as yards and plots near the stables where animals are kept for movement, of any age and health condition.

Farm environments should allow the animals to move naturally and interact socially and should provide adequate protection from extreme temperatures. Food and water should be provided within an area that is accessible to animals. Farm facilities and structures should not endanger the safety and welfare of animals.

Milk storage tanks (cans, cooling tanks) are cleaned and disinfected after each milk collection and kept in good condition. Neglecting to wash the equipment once again can cause the next shipment of milk to be rejected after quality tests and consequently to reject all milk deliveries.