14. Milking It For All It's Worth.

Having milked cows in NZ for over two months now, I thought it was about time to post about the actual milking. I just bought a waterproof case for my camera so I can take it into the milking shed without the very real risk of it being ruined. In my experience, it is easier to stay dry when swimming compared to milking cows. The case, which is actually just a glorified, high-tech sandwich bag, means that I could get a few action shots during this afternoons milking.

We milk twice a day, at 5:00 am and at 2:30 pm, in a 40 a side DeLaval swing-over herringbone. For those of you not familiar with milking parlours, this is what it looks like.

As you can see it is basically just a roof over the plant so there is plenty of opportunity for a nice fresh breeze to blow through the shed at 5am in the winter to stop any chance of overheating.

The swing-over system works in a very efficient use of time, so that whilst one side is being milked the other side is exiting and the next row entering and being rowed up. With two people milking, responsible for either the front or back half, 500 cows can be milked in less than two hours. This afternoon, myself and Dan milked 460 (approx) in an hour and a half.

Whilst the cows are being milked they get their ration of barley and molasses, which as well as providing an important energy boost helps distract them from the human playing around with their udders.

The barley is stored in these silos, the crusher in the middle is probably the noisiest piece of machinery ever created. It sounds as if someone has put nails in a giant paper shredder.

Here are a few of the pics from during milking

 All cupped on and standing still.

 Daniel speed-milking

 Note the look of concentration - clearly not morning milking

After the cows are milked their teats are sprayed with a solution containing Iodine, which reduces risk of infection (mastitis) by making the sprayed area inhospitable for bacteria, and Glycerine which reduces skin damage and keeps the teats supple.

Note the rubber gloves, which do not allow the spread of bacteria from cow to cow nearly as much as cracked and callused hands do. I had to have XL ones bought especially, the other sizes were preventing the blood from reaching my hands.

The shed is constantly being washed down as we milk, a clean environment makes for cleaner milk and lower levels of mastitis. 

The milk collected, at the moment about 11300 litres per day, is stored in this vat and collected at about 9pm every evening. 

It is very important to make sure that the seal around that door is on properly or it will leak. A mistake I will  not be repeating!

After the main herd has gone through, a smaller separate group containing cows receiving treatment in the form of antibiotics, lame cows and those that have just calved is milked. The milk is not suitable for human consumption so is redirected towards the ever hungry calves.

The plant is washed down after milking by pumping water containing acid or alkaline to sanitize all the clusters, pipes and pumps. This is done by means of these hot water tanks and tub. 

There are many switches, levers, buttons and handles to open, close, pull and switch. It took me about three weeks of forgetting something to learn how to do the wash. It is like driving the Tardis, and with washing down the whole shed and various yards and races, takes almost as long as the actual milking. 

I hope that gives you all an idea of what I get up to at stupid-o-clock in the morning and at very-full-of-lunch time in the afternoon. There will be more milking based posts to come. 

I have the weekend off now, and to save money (for a fishing rod and tackle), I am not doing anything apart from (re)watching all three of the Lord of the Rings films. I may watch a few action classics too, I'm thinking Bridge over the River Kwai and Zulu. I have no plans to move from this spot on the sofa at all.