Parlor Monitoring Dictionary

Term

Description

Milk 2 Min

Milk produced in the first 2 minutes.

% Milk 2 Min

% of milk produced in first 2 Min. Target 45% or higher

Note: This header provides data only for those cows with a yield >4 kg and without a second attachment.

AMT

Actual Milking Time, measured from the time the clusters are attached to the time they are removed. Lower milking time is better. The goal is to be lower than 4.5 minutes.

AMT Target

Varies from farm to farm and is based on production. Goal: AMT is lower than Target AMT.

Flow rates

Ideal flow rates:

  • 0-15 seconds: 1-3 lbs/min 0.5-1.5 kg/min

  • 15-30 seconds: 3-6 lbs/min 1.5-2.5 kg/min

  • 30-60 seconds: 6-8 lbs/min 2.5-3.5 kg/min

  • 60-120 seconds: 8-10 lbs/min 3.5-4.5 kg/min

Low flow time

Total time of milk produced at low flow-below 1kg. Total of Pre Low Flow and Low Flow Removal. Target is bellow 1_minute.

Flow-rate at removal

Milk produced at the time of removal.

Low flow time removal

Time once flow rate dropped below 1kg/2.2lb per minute at the end of milking. Indicates lengthy F2 or cancelled ACR.

Pre low flow time

Time until flow rate reached 1kg/2.2lb per minute in the beginning of milking, indication of good or bad preparation.

Low flow %

What % of milking time was spent in Low Flow. Target: <10%.

Multiple attachments

Any additional attachments. Target:

  • Excellent<3%

  • Good 3-5%

  • Bad>5%

Irregular take off

Manually removed and/or removed after cancellation of ACR. Target:

  • Excellent<3%

  • Good 3-5%

  • Bad>5%

Kick off

Unit was removed while not using manual removed button and flow rate was above 1kg/2.2lb per min. Target:

  • Excellent<3%

  • Good 3-5%

  • Bad>5%

Manual milking

Canceled ACR so milking machine will not be automatically removed. Target:

  • Excellent<3%

  • Good 3-5%

  • Bad>5%

ID Span

Time from first ID to last ID in the same load.

Attach. Span

Time from 1st attach to last attach in the same load.

Load Efficiency %

Loads Efficiency – This parameter estimates the efficiency of the milking process. It calculates the percentage of milking time the cows spend in the parlor:

  • Visit Time = Exit open to exit open.

  • Net Time = From first attachment {which comes first} to last detachment in the load; therefore, Load Efficiency% = {Net Time / Visit Time} X 100.

Cows per hour

Average number of cows milked in the parlor for an hour of the milking session.

Note: This parameter does not consider milk production level, efficiency of cow movement or average milk flow rates of individual cows. Therefore, a high value may be obtained even when the cows are milked using bad practices.

Milk per Hour

Average quantity of milk recorded in the parlor for an hour of the milking session.

Cows per Stall per Hour (Turns per Hour)

Number of times each parlor side is refilled per hour.

Milk per Stall per Hour

Best measure of overall parlor performance. This parameter reflects the overall rate of milk output and removes the effect of parlor size. Values are highest for high producing cows, fast milking cows, and rapid turnover of stalls. It is not likely to be high with low milk/cow, mistreated animals, or poor let-down.