French farmers embrace company’s cluster-exchange service
Milkrite’s cluster exchange scheme has been nominated for an innovation award at next September’s Space agricultural show in Rennes, in Brittany.
Now available in France the service delivers clusters fully assembled and ready to go to farms.
The farmer simply fits the clusters and returns the used clusters postage free in the boxes provided.
Milkrite manages the whole process, liners and air tubes are changed every time, and the claw is maintained.
The company offers systematic replacement of its liners after 2,500 or 5,000 milkings, depending on the liner material, number of milking stations, number of cows, and number of milkings per day.
They carry out laboratory analysis of wear and cleanliness of each liner, and send a report to the farmer and the liner distributor.
Complete dismantling of the claws, and cleaning and disinfecting all cleanable parts (claw, pulse distributor, teat cups, weights, o-rings) in the strictest hygiene conditions are part of the service.
Milkrite reassemble the cluster with new liners and test the assembly under vacuum.
As well as cluster maintenance, there is free replacement of damaged parts (broken claw bowl, short pulse tubes).
They calculate that the farmer saves time, spending only a minute for replacing the clusters per station, compared to a day’s labour for a double 10 milking parlour.
Also on offer is a milking consultancy once a year to advise farmers on milking practices — and waste disposal is included (of worn liners, broken parts, cleaning waste, etc).
Lower SCCs, and the benefits of the company’s latest technology (such as their impulse air triangular, mouthpiece vented dairy liners) are claimed.
