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The milking parlour enables 50 cows to be milked at one time, includes a “hospital” for housing and treating sick cows and also has internet connection for online technical support from Israel.
S.A.E. Afikim recently completed the upgrading of a modern milking parlour in the Tnuva dairy farm in Romania. The milking parlour, which following this upgrade is one of the most advanced of its kind in the world, currently milks 600 dairy cows and will be extended to double its current size within two years.
The milking parlour enables simultaneous milking of 50 cows, each cow entering is automatically, electronically identified and its data entered into the computerized herd management system. The parlour also includes a system that automatically sorts out cows needing medical treatment, a system to identify cows in heat and an automatic washing system.
The AfiMilk system installed by S.A.E. Afikim in the dairy farm enables real time collection of data on milk yield, fertility and health, all this by means of special sensors installed in the parlour.
Data information, including data on each cow’s milk yield, milk solid content, possible health problems, heat and more, is collected into a computer and when analyzed by the AfiFarm software can be retrieved as detailed management reports by the farm manager.
The AfiFarm software reports are collated into the computerized management system and enable quick response, control and monitoring. The reports provide data on cow performance, milk solid content and quality, on the milkers and on the milking parlour.
The computerized system is connected via the internet to the S.A.E. Afikim headquarters on Kibbutz Afikim, thus enabling the company experts to offer technical support and professional guidance in real time to the dairy farm manager.
The dairy farm where the milking parlour was built was a traditional Romanian farm. The Tnuva Company, who purchased the farm, increased its size and upgraded its technology to meet requirements for the highest quality milk supply for the new milk processing plant they established in Romania. This upgrade of Romanian dairy farms is very important at this time when the price of animal feed and milk prices are rising quickly.
Rafi Braun, hired by Tnuva to manage the dairy, said that Tnuva required a clever, efficient system that can work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for many years and with great reliability. For this reason Tnuva invested a great deal of care into choosing a system to meet those requirements.
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