Dairy farms have now evolved to the point where having good milking equipment is essential for the farm to function. Unfortunately, if this made the lives of farmers easier, it also means that milk goals will not be met if the equipment malfunctions. It is thus essential to know exactly when maintenance won’t be enough to keep the machines going, and a full upgrade is required.

Effects Of Faulty Milking Equipment

If it is tempting to stick to maintenance instead of replacing the milking equipment to avoid big expenses, farmers should also consider the risks of faulty machinery.

First of all, the repairs themselves can be a big expense. If they are indeed lesser than a system upgrade, they will slowly build up to bigger amounts. Indeed, if they seem trivial individually, if you total your repairs expenses for a whole year, you may find that you spent a hefty amount. Thus, if you consider that the equipment will have to be replaced eventually, these repairs may appear as a waste of money.

Secondly, faulty equipment will greatly affect the quality of the milk, which may result in a negative reaction on the sales. This is especially true for cooling systems, essential for the storage of the milk.

Finally, and most importantly, the health of the cattle will be affected. Inappropriate milking equipment will lead to issues, such as the animals being milked for too long, or at vacuum levels that are too high than recommended. 

When To Upgrade Your Milking Equipment

The basic thing to do is to make an evaluations of how your machines run. This obviously cannot be done in automatic mode, as the performance needs to be checked in manual mode. This will make it easier to identify issues and know if an upgrade is needed.

Secondly, don’t compare your equipment to that of other farmers. Choosing to upgrade your equipment at the same time as other farms will be unreliable since all herds have different milking needs. A larger dairy farm will for example need the milking equipment to operate 24/7, which means that upgrades will be more frequent.

Thirdly, and this is pretty obvious, is whether you plan to grow or not. Getting more animals in your herd means that you will need better milking equipment to optimize your dairy harvest, and thus your profits.

Keep in mind that your milking equipment will be used more often than any other equipment on your farm, and will thus need to perform at the highest levels to optimize your farm’s efficiency.