Milk Recording the Choices
Have you meters or jars? Yes/No
Yes – “Manual” Milk Recording – for herds with meters or jars in the parlour. The milk recorder visits and records the volume of each cow and takes a sample for analysis. There is no extra labour requirement for the farmer.
Herd Owner must use ICAR Approved milk meters or jars (not milk “Indicators”).
No – Electronic-DIY Milk Recording – for herds without meters there is no up-front cost of meters, instead the meters are delivered on the day of recording. With the main benefits being the farmer is in control re: milking time and there is no “stranger” in the pit, also the meter auto samples and agitates.
Recording will give you:
- Somatic Cell Count, Fat% & Protein% – for each cow
- Yield of fat, protein and milk calculated
- A number of farm reports – herd and group averages, trends, individual cow yields and detailed SCC reports for cows, cow groups and the overall herd.
Costs & Schemes
- Charged per recording
- Minimum 4 visits for Spring Herd e.g. every 2 months in milking period
- Minimum 6 visits for All Year Herd e.g. every 2 months
- If necessary farmers can record every month e.g. if there is a SCC problem it may be beneficial to record more regularly for a period of time.
The Actual Testing
Our samples are all tested in Independent Milk Labs in Bailieborough, Co. Cavan – where the staff in the lab provide a service 7 days a week, in 10 hour shifts, with one of the main priorities being getting results back farmers as quickly as possible.
We have over 130 Manual Milk Recorders.
