Russian Dairies to Receive Facelift
RUSSIA – State livestock development schemes are affording quick and easy milking by installing new equipment on a Russian dairy farm, with ten more to follow before the end of the year.A 400 cow dairy herd near Omsk, Kormilov area is benefiting from new lighting, windows, ventilation, concrete floors and several outbuildings, as well as the latest in automated milking, in a first for the region.
The work is part of a dairy farm modernisation programme which has allocated 600 million rubles to the regional budget.
The new set-up can milk 16 cows at one time. Once collected, the milk is refrigerated in a tank, safeguarding against contamination and boosting our food safety credentials, says district livestock developer Vladimir Chupin.
Common on developed farms, the piped system reduces human contact with the milk product and, although the upgrades took time to adjust to, the labour saving benefits are clear.
"It was difficult to get used to for both animals and workers at the beginning but now everything seems settled," says the farm manager Alimzhan Mendubaev.
"One person can milk 80-90 cows with four milking units while before it was 40-45 cows. In addition there is less physical labour involved as there is no need to carry heavy milk cans, all work is concentrated on the technology now.
TheCattleSite News Desk