Last week went to the Nottingham open day and looked around the Dairy farm. I learnt so much in such a short space of time, and can't wait to do my Dairy Work Experience.
Their dairy makes use of four high tech robot milking machines allowing milk to be taken much more efficiently. The milk travels through a computer based machine which measures the amount of whole cells in the milk. If there are large numbers of intact whole cells then the milking of that particular cow will stop due to the fact that this is a primary way of identifying the presence of mastitis in the cow.
This disease, which is the inflammation of the udder is responsible for the culling of about a 1/3 of dairy herds and so must be kept under strict control.
Prior to the milk being collected, each teat is individually scrubbed and disinfected ensuring that there is limited risk of bacteria being passed into the milk. Lasers then identify the position of the teat, allowing the nozzles to attach, so that milking can begin. When each teat has had its milk removed the nozzle on that teat drops off to prevent excessive milking.
Once all nozzles have dropped off the udder is fully disinfected once more. This is essential as after milking the teat channels are fully dilated (open) and this can lead to infection being spread once the cow returns to the rest of the herd.
I found it particularly interesting that the cows would come to be milked when they were ready to do so, as opposed to being forced. I was told that this was due to the behaviour that they have been bred to show, but also that being milked made the cows feel more comfortable.

Any heifer calves are separated at about 4-5 weeks. At about 15 months the cows were, in this farm, made pregnant and 'trained' to behave as dairy cows, i.e coming to be milked on a regular basis.

Whilst looking round the farm I realised how important it is to maintain clean conditions, particularly when the products are used in the food industry. This was clear in Nottingham's dairy, with conveyor belts, moving away any faeces and urine in stalls, as well as, since it was a hot day, water mist sprays. I was also showed that within the stalls and areas where the cows were, the floor was covered with mats. This was to prevent the cows getting foot sore from walking on concrete floors, which could make them uncomfortable, even affecting milk quality.
Aeration is also a very important factor for dairy farms and I noticed that this was good, with fresh air being moved easily into the shed.
As well as these conditions, it is very important to ensure that when entering, and leaving that shoes are disinfected. This is essential in ensuring that the herd do not come into contact with any bacterial diseases from other areas as these may cause disease in the herd, effectively meaning that the milk cannot be used. This directly means that the farm would not make money, and so this experience has enabled me to appreciate that it is important to take these precautions to prevent the loss of profit and indeed a entire livelihood.