You can have the cleanest plant in the country and still get a grade if your milking practices are letting you down.
When it comes to milk quality, hygiene doesn't stop at the wash tub. It starts in the pit, with the cows and the way you handle them every day. This section covers the common on-farm habits that make or break your hygiene game.
Cow Prep: To Wash or Not to Wash?
There's no perfect answer here, it's ultimately up to you whether you give your girls a bath or not, but there are some rules of thumb to keep in mind.
Washing cows can help if:
• It's done early, before cups go on
• You're only washing the dirty ones
• You're using clean water
Washing cows is a bad idea if:
• You're hosing straight into the pit
• You're not drying the teats before cups go on
• You're creating more splash than cleanliness
Bottom line: You want to avoid transferring mud, muck and bacteria from the teat surface into the milk. Whether you wash or not, make sure you're not introducing more risk than you're removing.
Test Buckets & Antibiotic Risk
They're handy. They're also a ticking time bomb if you're not careful.
Test buckets are a known risk for inhibitory substance grades - the kind of grade that hurts. Hard.
Why?
• People forget to sanitise the hoses
• Buckets get rinsed, not hot washed
• Someone forgets to use the bucket on a treated cow then the whole vat's gone
Your best defence:
• Hot wash the test bucket system after every use
• Label treated cows clearly
• Don't just rely on memory or one person
Pro tip: If you treat a cow during milking and get product on your hands, don't touch another teat. That's all it takes for residue to end up in the vat.
What Your Cluster Fell into Matters
Cows drop clusters. You better know what they landed in.
A freshly dropped set of cups can be a hygiene nightmare. Especially early in the season when:
• Cows are messier
• The pit floor's wetter
• Everyone's still warming up
If a cluster hits the deck:
• Assume it's contaminated
• Flush it with hot water and sanitiser before putting it back on
• If it landed in muck, clean and recirculate properly or take it out of action
Coliform grades are often traced back to exactly this moment. Don't just give it a quick rinse and hope for the best.
A Final Word on Practices
You can run the perfect cleaning routine, have spotless gear, and still get nailed by one dodgy milking habit. This section isn't about being paranoid; it's about being aware.
Good hygiene = Good habits. Start in the pit. Stay consistent. Watch the small stuff. It all ends up in the vat.