Perform an Annual Herd Management Analysis to Help Improve Milking Performance
Bonus Tips – During your annual herd review, take a moment to examine your barn environment at the same time!
It will always pay to regularly evaluate these key items in the barn that often get overlooked during busier times of the year. A little documentation and a thorough barn walk-through can complement what you are doing on the cow management side.
General equipment service records
If you don’t keep a service log already, make a pledge this year to keep track of your time dedicated to barn service. A journal, service stickers, or electronic notes are a good way to keep track of when routine service was done, or emergency repair service was performed. This information is useful to review on a regular basis to predict service needs or help determine when to replace something.
Setting changes
Frequently, settings on manure collection and barn ventilation systems get tweaked throughout the year for a variety of reasons. Take a few minutes to write down current settings and compare them to initial set points to decide if any additional changes need to be made. Although many control panels account for time changes, you may need to manually reset some panels or split the difference to account for future time changes.
Plan time for barn maintenance
Ventilation fans are often overlooked as routine maintenance. A dirty shroud or louvers can reduce fan efficiency by up to 10%. Plan time (before hot weather is in full swing) to clean equipment to get it running at optimal performance before the summer heat. This also applies to any filters, screens or louvers in the mechanical room of the barn.
Regular dumping of waterers should be part of normal chores, but during an annual review is a good time to deep clean the waterer and components or evaluate ways to reduce algae build-up inside the waterer. Be sure to have a few extra drain plugs or parts on hand and set a date or outside temperature threshold to pull heaters out of the waterers to help the components last longer.
Take a moment to inspect headlocks and stalls. Walk through the pens and look for any loose brackets or cracking concrete that may be indicators of future problems on stalls, neck rails or brisket boards. Look for any shiny spots on stalls to see if there any abnormal spots or obtrusions sticking out that could interfere with animal movement or comfort. And, look through the headlocks to ensure they are swinging properly and aren’t binding up, which can discourage cows from using a particular spot.
Manure equipment inspection
Manure equipment, impellers, belts, blades, bearings and cables wear out with everyday use. Now is a good time to stock up on extra parts and even have pre-cut cable on hand to reduce the time to get a system back up and running.
Mechanical equipment
Lastly, don’t forget about the mechanical equipment keeping the milking system running. A quick cleaning and inspection of the air compressor, water softener, cooling compressor and vacuum pumps can help identify any leaks or future service needs to prepare for versus facing an emergency.
This yearly review will not only optimize herd protocols, but it can also go a long way in helping to reduce downtime of everyday equipment used around the barn and milking facility. The ultimate goal: to keep cows happy, healthy and productive!
SCHEDULE YOUR SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE
The inspections and parts listed at each interval have been selected and organized to spread out any necessary downtime more evenly, during each service, while also ensuring that the wear parts are replaced on-time.
A maintenance schedule provides the following benefits:
• Reduces total cost of ownership by preventing equipment failures and minimizing unexpected downtime and emergency service
• Increases efficiency and performance through optimization of the AMS system for continued, high quality milkings
• Provides organization and convenience in knowing exactly when the system will be down for maintenance
• Helps to maintain qualifications to receive reimbursement for services or parts covered under your warranty should your AMS system have any problems
Work with your local authorized GEA AMS dealer to be sure scheduled maintenance is a priority and a routine part of your farm’s protocols.
