CoPulsation may not be a name known to many UK dairy producers, but it claims to avoid the risk of allowing mastitis to develop by giving the teat end a “rest” during milking and thereby eliminating the potential push of bacteria up the teat sinus.
It was invented by American Bill Gehm, who argues that current milking technology has failed to prioritise udder health. He believes current cluster liners pinch the teats during the resting phase and that bacteria are forced up the teat sinus.
Conventional milking systems also create a continuous vacuum under the teat, he says, which eventually causes the formation of scar tissue allowing mastitis to take hold.
The CoPulsation system, now available in the UK, uses two independent coils for the control of alternating air and vacuum to the teat cup. One coil controls the supply of fresh air, the other controls the vacuum inlet.
The valve of one coil must be fully closed before the door of the other coil can be opened, thereby preventing the mixing of air with vacuum.
CoPulsation operates at 45 beats/min compared with a conventional system at 60 beats/min, enabling the air to be moved twice or three times faster and changing the liner’s dynamics to provide a gentle massage.
Dutch dairy farmers who have adopted the CoPulsation system are said to be achieving an 80% cut in mastitis cases by producing sustained peak milk-flow rates and higher detach-flow rate settings with shorter time delays, enabling cows to be milked-out correctly.
“The results it’s achieving on so many farms are compelling,” says Steve Swales, from UK-based distributor OptiFlo.
“It’s improving performance and efficiency while reducing the costs and losses associated with mastitis and high cell counts.”
Source: Farmers Weekly