APPLICATION OF CLEANING AND COOLING PRINCIPLES TO ROBOTIC MILKING

Abstract

Some basic principles of cleaning and cooling are presented in this paper with ideas for application to robotic milking: 1. Monitoring methods for milk quality control, failure diagnosis, and as a basis for recommending practices such as cleaning intervals, 2. The influence of soil/bacterial contamination drawn into the milking machine and milk from cow’s udders and the environment, 3. The removal of soils and bacteria from milk contact surfaces effectively and at appropriate intervals, 4. Milk cooling to inhibit bacterial growth, and 5. Design of milk handling systems for automated milking. Monitoring Methods The key to properly diagnosing cleaning and sanitation problems is identifying the types of bacteria present in bulk tank milk. Periodic culturing of bulk tank milk is also an essential tool to diagnose milk quality issues related to mastitis. These methods are described in greater detail in Reinemann et al. (2002) and Ruegg and Reinemann (2002). Collection of the type of bulk