The farm determines for itself what the quality of the milk is. Wait, what? That’s right – the choices made daily determine the quality of your milk. High quality milk doesn’t happen by chance. This is the result of intentional decisions in three key areas. 1) the people on the farm, 2) the environment in which the cattle live, 3) the tool that guarantees success for both employees and cattle. Let’s break it down.
1. Farm People: Your Most Valuable Assets
The foundation of farm milk quality is the team. Employees are at the heart of all aspects of milk production and cow comfort, from milking procedures to cow care. Their knowledge, motivation and involvement play an important role.
Onboarding: When new employees are properly introduced to farm expectations, the tone of success is set. A thorough onboarding process allows them to understand their role and the importance of milk quality from the start. To bring new employees to the team, clarity of expectations is essential from the initial engagement of the conversation. Value and gratitude: Employees who feel valued will perform better. Simple gestures such as saying “thank you,” greeting each morning, acknowledging hard work and engaging employees in decision-making, etc., show that they are an integral part of the farm’s success. These are just a few small examples that can make a difference in retention and employee growth. Training and Feedback: Continuing education helps employees stay sharp and adapt to new challenges. Constructive, positive, regular feedback promotes growth and demonstrates their commitment to success. Integrity and Relationship Building: Treating employees with respect, fairness and integrity promotes a culture of trust and loyalty to management and teams. When employees feel respected and valued, they are more likely to take pride in their work.
2. Environment: Where Quality Starts
The cow’s environment plays a crucial role in the quality of milk. Think of cow’s breasts like sponge in your kitchen. Imagine cleaning up the spilled juice with a sponge and squeezing it into the sink. Now, imagine a cow and imagine most of her life on bedding in alleys with a high number of bacteria or not frequently cleaned in alleys. It serves as a way of travelling from her residential district to a bulk tank. Care must be taken to the hygiene of bedding, floor hygiene and parlor hygiene.
Bedding: Cleaning, drying and maintaining bacterial low levels is not just a visually clean level, but also a microbiological level, but in many cases you miss a key point. Environmental Hygiene: Fertilized floors not only increase the risk of injury, but also contribute to lower breast health. Alleyway shavings, cleaning and retention areas often reduce exposure to bacteria and improve overall cleanliness. The dirty cow drags fertilizer wherever he goes, such as entering a parlor and returning to her quarters. Parler Hygiene: Parlers are a place where everything comes together, and hygiene must be a top priority. Clean equipment, proper milking procedures and compliance, and attention to detail during milk harvesting all ensure that milk keeps the breast as clean as possible.
3. Tool: empowering people to succeed
Even the best employees can guarantee high milk quality without the right tools. Technology and new research are great and you can spend a lot of capital on both, but at the end of the day, cows need the fundamentals of life to succeed. A tool is the bridge between people and processes.
Cow Comfort: Comfortable food stalls, good scaffolding, cow cooling, ventilation all lower stress and cortisol levels within cows, improving overall health and milk production. Equipment: Tools such as nipple preparation systems, liners, dips, pulsation, and cleaning solutions play a major role in reducing bacteria count, increasing cow’s comfort, and ensuring clean milk, but these tools are suitable for It may not be used from a user’s perspective if it is not processed or properly managed. This also includes larger capital items such as skidloaders and gates, which are properly maintained. You can be as frustrated as you get when a cow mover blows the gate. Training: Our people need training. Training is sometimes seen as an extra chore we need to do, or sometimes not. Instead, this idea is that dairy products provide training as a tool. This is the same as providing them with dip cups to do their job properly. Why don’t we arm our teams with proper training on how to properly care for our cows when we don’t dare to offer a set of wrenches to the mechanics?
No doctoral degree required
Milk quality is not rocket science, but it requires consistent attention to three pillars: people, environment and tools. Farms focused on these areas are rising for success by caring for their employees, creating a clean and comfortable environment for cattle, and investing in the right tools.
Remember, in most cases, the quality of milk is not determined by external factors. It is determined daily by choices made on the farm. By prioritizing these areas, dairy products can produce high-quality milk that meets and exceeds industry standards.
