Milk Sensor: Monitor Mastitis And Milking Parlor Performance

The story behind CowManager’s newest innovation

During milking, a light flashes. Straight away, the milker knows: the conductivity of that teat is off. A sensor that measures conductivity, milk volume, milk flow, the temperature and the vacuum level. In addition to monitoring udder health at the teat level, the sensor also provides a detailed overview of milking parlor performance. That’s the Milk Sensor, CowManager’s latest innovation.

“Thanks to the Milk Sensor, farmers can stay one step ahead of udder health issues,” says Gerard Griffioen, dairy farmer and founder of CowManager. Mastitis not only affects milk production and animal health, it also affects profit. That is why preventing it is vital.

“When I was visiting one of our customers who milks about 125,000 cows, I saw his struggle with mastitis and the accuracy of his milk data. Cows were left unidentified and for them, no milk production data was available. And at the same time there was a wealth of data from other cows – but unreliable,” Griffioen recalls.

That’s how the idea for the Milk Sensor came about.

“Our Milk Sensor was developed in collaboration with dairy farmers,” says Koen van Meurs, Head of Product Development, enthusiastically.

Because the Milk Sensor measures at the teat level and CowManager has an extensive global network of large-scale dairy farms, a significant amount of data has been collected in a short amount of time.

Comparing our results with milk analyses from the lab was a big part of the development process and vital for ensuring maximum reliability. Artificial Intelligence, in combination with CowManager’s many years of experience with algorithms and large-scale data, resulted in a smart, advanced and reliable dashboard.

Five indicators in one Milk Sensor
The Milk Sensor currently has five indicators: temperature, conductivity, milk volume, milk flow and the vacuum level.

“The Milk Sensor is positioned very close to the udder to ensure reliable data. Milk quality has also been taken into account: the sensor ensures a clean, unobstructed milk flow. The system can be fully customized. Installation is quick and easy: cut the tube beneath the milk cup, slide the transparent sensor into place and reattach the tubes on either side of the sensor. This works with virtually any brand and type of milk cup in the milking parlor,” Gerard explains.

All data computer. CowManager’s Milk Sensor is available to all dairy farmers who have a CowManager ear sensor or who wish to purchase one. In the future, the Milk Sensor can also be upgraded with cow identification.

Early detection and prediction of mastitis
Helping to detect and even predict mastitis is one of the Milk Sensor’s main features. Continuous monitoring of milking parlor performance has a positive effect on teat health and can prevent risk factors for mastitis such as teat tip calluses.

The Milk Sensor can also play a key role in producing milk with a low somatic cell count. Gerard and Koen are looking even further ahead.

“This preventive approach has a positive impact on animal welfare. It will help reduce culling due to high cell counts or mastitis problems,” the men predict. “This ultimately results in a longer lifespan for the cows,” Gerard explains.

Performance of each unit at a glance
Another main feature of the Milk Sensor is to analyze milking parlor performance down to the level of individual milk cups.

“The proper functioning of a milking parlor is essential for preventing udder problems. Blind milking, air in the milk or a low flushing temperature aren’t visible, but they can pose a huge risk when it comes to mastitis or a high bacterial count,” Koen explains.

The Milk Sensor monitors this and helps detect mastitis. The Milk Sensor also ensures continuity throughout the milking process when multiple milkers are involved. Any differences between milkers or milking sessions will immediately become visible.

“The combination of the ear and Milk Sensor and the accompanying sorting gate offers unprecedented possibilities,” says Gerard about the entire CowManager ecosystem. The Milk Sensor is a key component of the overall package.

But, according to Koen and Gerard, that’s not all. “This is just the first step. Eventually, the Milk Sensor will be able to measure even more parameters in both the milk and the milking parlor,” Koen reveals.