O momento da ordenha é fundamental para definir a qualidade do leite utilizado na indústria. Para obter leite e derivados com padrão de qualidade superior é fundamental investir em treinamentos, orientações e métodos que auxiliem no controle da matéria prima. O presente trabalho consistiu na adaptação e implantação de ferramentas de controle de qualidade, utilizados normalmente na indústria de alimentos, para o setor de ordenha. As ferramentas implantadas foram um Programa de Auto Controle (PAC), composto por um manual de Boas Práticas de Fabricação e os Procedimentos Padrão de Higiene Operacional (PPHO). Para avaliar a ocorrência de melhoras significativas com a implantação do PAC, foram comparados os índices de qualidade do leite (contagem de células somáticas e contagem bacteriana total) do tanque resfriador nos períodos anteriores e posteriores ao estudo. Conclui-se que a adaptação e aplicação do PAC nas atividades da ordenha, conforme descrito neste estudo, apresentou melhorias na qualidade do leite. / The milking procedures are crucial to defining the quality of milk used in industry. To obtain milk and dairy products with a higher quality standard, it is essential to invest in training, guidelines and methods that help in the control of the raw material. The present study consisted in the adaptation and implantation of quality control tools, normally used in the food industry, for the milking parlor sector. The tools implemented were an Auto Control Program (PAC), composed of a Manual of Good Manufacturing Practices and the Standard Procedures of Operational Hygiene (PPHO). To assess the occurrence of significant improvements with PAC implantation, the milk quality indices (somatic cell counts and total bacterial counts) of the cooling tank were compared in the periods before and after the study. It was concluded that the adaptation and application of PAC in milking activities, as described in this study, showed improvements in milk quality.

The aim of this thesis is a project documentation of a farm. It is a new building of stable for cow breeding and other buildings necessary for the proper function of the farm. The farm is located in Šalgovce, district of Topoľčany. The project documentation consists of administration building, milking parlor and a stable for cows. All objects are single building objects. . A base - administration building is the brick object with two floors. On the ground floor there is a lodge, a rest area for employees, cheese production area and a farm store. On the second floor there are offices. The milking parlor is the single building object with rooms necessary to secure stable operation. The stable is designed for a maximum of 172 cows.

MSCAGR (Animal Science) / Department of Animal Science / The overall objective of this study was to investigate the effects of level of dietary concentrate and live yeast (LY) on milk yield, milk composition, rumen fermentation and nitrogen metabolism in lactating dairy cows. Four primiparous Holstein dairy cows in early lactation (average weight 500 ±9 kg and 20 days in milk (DIM)) were used in a 4 x 4 Latin Square design for a period of 44 days. The animals had seven days of adaptation to the treatments and four days for measurements. The treatments were, Low concentrate to forage (C:F) diet (40:60) with no additive, High C:F diet (60:40) with no additive, High C:F diet with LY and Low C:F diet with LY.Cows weremilked at 06h00 and 16h00 daily and milk samples were analysed for fat, protein, lactose milk urea nitrogen (MUN) and somatic cell count (SCC). Proximate analysis of feed samples was done and daily feed intake was recorded. Weight and body condition score were determined at beginning and end of every experimental period. Faecal and urinary nitrogen (N)were determined. In vitro batch fermentation was conducted to determine ruminal fermentation kinetics. Data generated from the feeding trial was analysed for a 4 x 4 Latin square design (LSD) using the PROC MIXED procedure of SAS (2009) and data for the invitro trialwassubjected to ANOVA using PROC GLM (SAS Institute, 2009) for a complete randomized design. Addition of LY affected only dry matter intake (DMI) (P<0.05), which effect was pronounce when cows were fed low (40:60) C:F diet resulting in better feed efficiency(FE). Cows fed high C:F diet consumed more feed, produced more milk with high fat and protein content (P<0.05). Both LY and C:F reduced (P<0.05) N intake as result of low DMI, but reduced (P<0.05) N excretion in manure. Addition of LY decreased ruminal ammonia and increased total VFA’s (P<0.05). The effects on ammonia suggest a better utilisation of diet proteins and probably more incorporation of products of CP degradation into microbial proteins, which support the observed reduced manure N excretion. The opposite was observed with high C:F diet, which increased ammonia and decreased total VFA’s. Propionate and butyrate were increased and decreased, respectively by high C:F diet.Addition of LY reduced SCC and MUN compared to control.The effects of LY were better pronounced on most parameters at low C:F diet. It is therefore recommended that the effects of LY be tested at low C:F on a larger scale of animals over longer periods to observe its effect of the rest of the parameters.

Orientador: José Carlos de Figueredo Pantoja / Resumo: Os objetivos deste estudo foram descrever características do equipamento e manejo de ordenha, características morfológicas das tetas, prevalência de patologias não infecciosas, e identificar fatores de risco para tais patologias. Quarenta rebanhos foram visitados para realização de levantamento de dados produtivos e de manejo, avaliação estática do equipamento de ordenha, avaliação dinâmica de parâmetros de vácuo coletados no conjunto de ordenha e dos procedimentos adotados pelos colaboradores. Houve grande heterogeneidade nas dimensões das tetas avaliadas. A prevalência de edema, anel de base, cianose, hemorragia petequial e hiperqueratose grave foi 7,81%, 45,47%, 14,69%, 0,63% e 11,88%, respectivamente. Formato e posição da teta foram associados à observação de hiperqueratose. Paridade, extração automática do conjunto, nível de vácuo e duração da fase B do ciclo de pulsação foram associados à prevalência de edema. Paridade, formato da teta e tempo de ordenha foram associadas à prevalência de anel de base. Fluxo de leite bimodal, extração automática, condição da teteira, sobreordenha, nível de vácuo na cabeça da teteira e comprimento da fase B foram associados à prevalência de cianose. Práticas indesejáveis, tais como uso de teteiras desgastadas, falta de manutenção do equipamento, ausência de extração automática, longo tempo de ordenha e sobreordenha e rotina de trabalho sequencial foram mais frequentemente observadas em rebanhos com até 50 vacas, destacando dificuldades té... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The objectives of this study were to describe characteristics of milking equipment and management, teat morphological characteristics, prevalence of noninfectious pathologies, and to identify risk factors for such pathologies. Forty herds were visited to collect production and management data, evaluation of the milking equipment, dynamic evaluation of vacuum parameters collected from the milking cluster, and milking procedures adopted on the farms. There was great heterogeneity in teat dimensions. The prevalence of edema, ring at the teat base, cyanosis, petechial hemorrhage, and severe hyperkeratosis was 7.81%, 45.47%, 14.69%, 0.63%, and 11.88%, respectively. Teat shape and position were associated with teat-end hyperkeratosis. Parity, automatic extraction of clusters, vacuum level, and length of the pulsation cycle´s B phase were associated with prevalence of edema. Parity, teat shape and milking duration were associated with prevalence of ring at the teat base. Bimodal milk flow, automatic extraction, liner condition, overmilking, vacuum at the mouthpiece chamber, and phase B´s length were associated with prevalence of cyanosis. Undesirable practices, such as the use of worn liners, lack of equipment maintenance, lack of automatic extraction, long milking and overmilking times, and sequential working routine were most often observed in small herds (< 50 cows), highlighting technical and structural difficulties faced by producers. Results of this study contribute to improve... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

With decreasing financial margins within the dairy industry around the world, the trend of today's dairy producers is an ever-increasing degree of automated milk production. Reasons for this is to reduce labor costs but at the same time to increase the welfare of animals and thus increase milk yield. DeLaval International is a company with long experience and expertise in supplying and producing products for the modern dairy industry. As a step in this development, DeLaval International has launched an automatic milking rotary platform called AMR. This product replaces the heavy, monotonous manual labor by the use of robots. As part of the further development of AMR, this thesis aims to create a new type of robotic tools with the goal to cut the robot’s cycle time and thus increase the overall production rate for the rotary platform. Two concepts of various robotic tools were developed in the form of virtual and physical models. Various engineering tools were used to aid the process such as Morphological matrix, Gantt chart and WBS. Both concepts show possible ways to both clean and attach milk cups onto teats of dairy animals. Concepts meet the requirements that were developed for a robotic tool on AMR. The work provides recommendations for further work to optimize both concepts before any field tests can be performed. Reflections on the process and the result are also presented. / Med minskande ekonomiska marginaler inom mjölkproduktion världen över vänder sig dagens mjölkproducenter mot en ständigt ökande grad av automatiserad mjölkproduktion. Anledningarna är att kunna minska kostnader för arbetskraft och samtidigt kunna öka djurens välmående, på så vis även öka sin avkastning. DeLaval International är ett företag med lång erfarenhet och expertis av att leverera och producera produkter för modern mjölkproduktion. Som ett steg i denna utveckling har DeLaval International lanserat AMR, en automatisk mjölkningskarusell. Denna produkt använder robotar för att ersätta annars tungt, monotont manuellt arbete. Som en del av vidareutvecklingen av AMR gjordes detta examensarbete för att skapa en ny typ av robotverktyg med mål att korta robotens cykeltid och på så vis öka den totala produktionstakten för karusellen. Två koncept av olika robotverktyg togs fram i form av virtuella och fysiska modeller. Olika ingenjörsmässiga verktyg användes för att stötta processen såsom: Morfologisk matris, Gantt schema och WBS. Båda koncepten visar möjliga sätt att både rengöra och montera mjölkkoppar på kor. Båda koncept uppfyller kraven fastställda i den kravspecifikation som framtogs för ett robotverktyg till en AMR-karusell. Arbetet ger reflektioner och rekommendationer till arbete som kan göras för att förbättra koncepten innan ett eventuellt fälttest kan genomföras.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted at six properties in the small-holder and commercial sector in Gwanda district of Matabeleland South Province, Zimbabwe. The study was conducted at Sivume and Nyandeni communal dip-tanks, at Blanket, Double cross, Judds and at Timber farms. The objective of the study was to ascertain the tick infestations, tick species and udder and teat damage of milking cows and heifers from selected cattle herds. The study was important as it would help animalhealth decision makers and farmers in knowing the prevailing tick genera and species in the study area and hence the potential for the occurrence of diseases associated with these ticks. Two hundred and eighty-six cattle were sampled and ticks were collected and sent to the Central Veterinary Laboratory for further characterisation. A total of eight tick species, comprising of Amblyomma hebraeum, Hyalomma truncatum, Hyalomma marginatum rufipes, Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) decoloratus, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, Rhipicephalus zambeziensis and Rhipicephalus simus were identified. 53 % of the sampled cattle had some degree of udder and teat damage but very few farmers (2.6 %) treated their cattle for these conditions. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Veterinary Tropical Diseases / unrestricted

Detta examensarbete har utförts på uppdrag av DeLaval, ett företag inom mjölkningsindustrin. Projektets huvudmålsättning var att automatisera kalibreringen av DeLavals mjölkningsrobot VMS v300. Kalibreringen av mjölkmätarna, som mäter mängden mjölk under mjölkning, måste ske manuellt. Dagens kalibreringsprocess är ICAR-godkänd vilket innebär att ICAR sätter upp riktlinjer för hur noggrann mätningen ska vara för att vara godkänd. Arbetet har utförts på distans vilket innebär att det endast finns teoretiska beräkningar, enklare skisser, och teoretiska modeller i rapporten.  Arbetet inleds med en faktagenomgång, där processen kring hur kalibreringen utförs förtydligas. Vidare förklaras även hur mycket mjölk som fås av en ko under en mjölkning, vilken mjölkmätare som används, kalibreringsparametrar, lösningsförslag, och hur den automatiserade kalibreringen av en AMR (Automatic Milking Rotary) fungerar. Med hjälp av matematiska beräkningar och simuleringar utvärderas lösningsförslagen. Slutsatsen är att nivåmätaren, som nu finns placerad och kan användas i VMS:en, inte når de krav som ställs på kalibreringen. Istället kan en ultraljudssensor ersätta den nuvarande nivåmätaren och erhålla en godkänd kalibreringsprocess. Detta innebär att kalibreringsprocessen kan automatiseras. / This report is a thesis commissioned by the dairy industry company DeLaval. The main objective of theproject was to automate DeLaval's calibration of its milking robot VMS v300. At present, DeLavalneeds to manually calibrate the milk meters, that measure the amount of milk during milking, to getan accurately measured amount of milk. Today's calibration process is ICAR-approved, which meansthat ICAR sets guidelines for how accurate the measurement must be for approval. The work has been carried out remotely, which means that there are only theoretical calculations,simpler sketches, and theoretical models in the report. The work begins with a factual review, which clarifies the process of how the calibration is performed.Furthermore, it is also explained how much milk is obtained by a cow during milking, which milkmeter is used, calibration parameters, solution suggestions, and how the automated calibration of anAutomatic Milking Rotary (AMR) works. By means of mathematical calculations and simulations, a model is set up to evaluate the solutionproposals, which resulted in a feasible model. The conclusion for the work is that the level meter,which is now located and can be used in the VMS, does not meet the requirements set for thecalibration. Instead, an ultrasonic sensor can replace the current level meter and obtain an approvedcalibration process. This means that the calibration process can be automated.

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Increasing the milking frequency of early lactation dairy cows increases their milk yield, both during increased milking and after the cows are returned to a normal twice-daily milking schedule. When milked four times a day (4X) for only the first twenty-one days of lactation, the right udder half produces 3 kg/d more milk than the left half, which is milked only two times a day (2X) over the course of lactation (Hale et al., 2003). Alterations to this increased milking frequency (IMF) approach have been investigated in order to maximize production of the animals and determine the most efficient practice for producers. The aim of this study was to determine the appropriate duration of early lactation IMF treatment by increasing milking frequency of early lactation cows for various lengths of time, and subsequently increasing the use of this management practice on Virginia dairy farms. The right udder half of twenty-three primiparous and multiparous Holstein cows were milked 4X for 10, 20, or 40 days at the beginning of lactation, and the left udder half 2X for the entire lactation. Udder-half milk yields were measured at various time points throughout lactation and used to calculate the difference between right (4X) and left (2X) udder halves. Overall, treatment did not have a significant effect on milk yield difference throughout the entire lactation; the udder half differences for each group were -0.45 kg, 1.92 kg and 4.62 kg for the 10 d, 20 d and 40 d treatments (P > 0.05). In addition to the IMF portion of the experiment, two different methodologies were used to investigate the possible mechanism of local regulation of milk yield in response to IMF treatment. Milk fatty acid analysis was performed on milk samples obtained from the above experiment. Three different groups of fatty acids were analyzed to detect potential changes in the right udder half (4X) when compared to the left (2X); the three groups were denovo, C16, and preformed fatty acids. There was no significant effect of treatment on fatty acid composition of right and left udder halves for any of the three groups (P > 0.05). The second methodology used to explore a possible mechanism behind increased milk yield following IMF treatment was immunohistochemistry of mammary gland tissue samples obtained after IMF treatment in a previous experiment. The key target investigated was a component of the Hippo signaling pathway, Yes-associated protein (YAP). Intensity of YAP staining in the cytoplasmic area of mammary epithelial cells (MEC) and number of YAP-positive stained nuclei located in the MEC were quantified for each of the images obtained. There was no effect of treatment or day on intensity of staining (P > 0.05) with no difference in the intensity of staining between 4X and 2X samples or d 21 and d 60 samples. However, the interaction for treatment x day tended to be significant (P < 0.06), with the d 60 samples tending to have higher intensity of staining than d 21 samples. For YAP-positive nuclei, there was a significant effect of day (P < 0.05), with d 60 samples having significantly more YAP positive nuclei. There was not a significant effect of treatment or treatment x day interaction (P > 0.05) with 2X and 4X samples having the same number of YAP positive nuclei. Results from the first experiment reveal that 40 d of IMF during early lactation is sufficient to produce an increase in milk and component yields throughout lactation. This practice could be implemented on Virginia dairy farms as a way to increase efficiency and milk yield per cow. Results from the second half of this research indicates that further research is needed to investigate the fatty acid content of milk from cows subject to IMF treatment during early lactation. In addition, YAP potentially plays a role in the changes occurring in the mammary gland, with increased intensity of YAP staining and increased number of YAP positive nuclei observed at 60 DIM. Understanding of this protein and its involvement in the mammary gland could lead to identifying a mechanism for which this increase in milk yield and components following IMF is occurring. Further research needs to be done to provide results supporting the current experiment. / MSLFS

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