Quality checked and charted

By Clint, Janice and Stanley Burkholder

4/12/2008

Clint, Janice and Stanley Burkholder Chambersburg, Pa

Clean cows and clean equipment mean quality milk. We are constantly recording information which would give us an indication of where we are in the process of producing high quality milk and in improving milk production. We chart milk weights and production per cow for every pickup. We also record every butterfat, protein, SSC, SPC and PI count that the milk cooperative e-mails us.  
 
We also record feed changes, outdoor temperatures and anything that factors into changes in the milk or herd health. This is averaged each month and also has a graph for milk production.  

The housing of our herd, and how we handle the nutrient waste to keep our cows clean, helps to achieve high- quality milk. Most of the groups are housed in freestalls with a 3” rubber mattress. This mattress has some “give” or “spring” and has a cover over the rubber. A small amount of sawdust is sprinkled over the mattresses twice a week. One barn has a flush system, and the other barns utilize a rubber tire scrape system.  

The post-fresh group (about 50 animals) is housed on a bedded pack.  Sawdust or chopped corn fodder are used in this area.

The high group and 2-year-old group are housed in a flush barn. The other groups are in barns that are scraped with the rubber tire system. We do not see any difference in SCC or mastitis in the various groups. We currently run about 1% treated cows in the herd.
 
Cow prep is a very important part of the milking process. A wash pen is used prior to the cows entering the parlor. Once they enter the parlor, a foam dip is applied and three strips of milk are removed. Each cow is dried off with one cloth towel, and the milking unit is attached after 30 seconds of lag time. 

Another area which is very critical to our quality of milk is the milking system. It is checked monthly to keep on top of any problems. We are in the process of having an ozone system installed to wash our milking equipment. This process will not use any detergent. 

The herdsman receives a milk-quality bonus almost every month. The premium that we receive from our milk cooperative for our high-quality milk is important to our income and Burk-Lea Farms’ bottom line. We want to continually produce a product that we can be proud of and that is nutritious.

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