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The S.A.E. Afikim milk meter AfiFree™ is the first to receive approval for use for sheep milking from the International Committee for Animal Recording (ICAR). This recognition is expected to lead to an increase in sales.
The International Committee for Animal Recording (ICAR) granted approval for use of the S.A.E. Afikim AfiFree™ milk meter to measure milk yield in sheep. The organization has around 50 member countries and is the highest authority for setting standards and granting instrumentation approval in the world dairy industry. The approval was granted following extensive laboratory tests of the milk meter in France. It is expected to lead to a rise in sales of the milk meter to dairy sheep farms in Israel and abroad – mainly to those countries in the West where great importance is given to meeting official standards.
The milk meter AfiFree™ measures the quantity of milk yielded during milking. S.A.E. Afikim was the first company in the world to develop an electronic milk meter for cows. Use of the milk meter for sheep and goats required a lengthy adaptation process, as sheep and goat milk is characterized by its relatively high fat content and by the relatively small amounts yielded compared to cows. The S.A.E. Afikim milk meter is the first in the world to be approved for use with sheep, after a number of other companies attempted to develop similar products but were unsuccessful in the laboratory tests.
The measurement of milk quantity during milking is carried out while the milk flows through the milk meter. This measurement of milk during milk flow is complicated compared to other liquids such as water as the milk froths as it flows so some of the liquid measured is in fact air. This machine knows how to calculate, by measuring the electrical conductivity and other factors, the exact milk volume and provides this information to the farmer in real time. Although the machine contains sensitive electronic components, it must be resistant to the environmental conditions of the farm, including its external exposure to dirt and chemical cleaning materials.
According to Tal Bareket, Vice President of R&D of S.A.E. Afikim, this approval for the milk meter will make it an officially recognized instrument for recording the milk yield of sheep and for herd improvement in the international field of goat and sheep dairy farming.
Over the past few years the field of goat and sheep farming has grown significantly in Israel and around the world, as a result of the increasing demand for goat and sheep dairy products due to their high nutritional value.
S.A.E. Afikim, the world leader in dairy farm management and information systems, made a strategic decision to expand the company's activities and to implement all the accumulated experience and knowledge within the goat and sheep farming industry.
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