2012 - Volume #36, Issue #6, Page #25
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Mobile Milking System Catches On In Eastern Europe
“Our mobile system brings the milking parlor to cows rather than have the cows come to the parlor,” says Marijus Balys, a spokesperson for UAB Moto Techa Global. “We started making these systems in 2004 and have sold more than a thousand of them in Lithuania.” Dairies in Latvia, the Ukraine, France, Switzerland, Canada and Australia have also bought Moto Techa systems.
“Mobile milking is catching on because the cows don’t waste energy walking to a parlor,” says Balys. “Our main customers are organic farmers and operations that make extensive use of rotational grazing, where cows are quite a distance from buildings and farm sites.”
Moto Techa’s portable 2, 4 or 6-cow system is typically pulled to milking sites by a small tractor or a pickup truck. The 2-cow system is for up to 20 animals, the 4-stall model for up to 50 cows, and the 6-stall model for more than 50 cows. Hydraulic cylinders raise the wheels and lower the grated floor to the ground. Electricity can be provided by a generator run by a tractor pto or a portable diesel engine. An enclosed tented trailer carries the vacuum machine and milking units. A separate cart carries wash water and the bulk milk tank.
All 3 sizes of the Moto Techa portable milking system have a galvanized frame, roof, floor and vacuum pipe. They include 12-volt lighting, milk vacuum hoses and bowls for supplementary feeding. The system uses Interpuls milking units powered by a Motech portable vacuum machine.
Balys says the milking stations are comfortable for the cows and the person doing the milking. “Cows are milked in single stalls on both sides of a central aisle. The operator has excellent access to the udder and the milking machine. Milk flows to a bulk tank through a pipeline system, just like in a stationary parlor. When a cow is done milking, a gate opens on the side of the stall and the cow walks out. Another gate opens at the rear of the stall and the next cow walks in. It’s simple and stress free for the animals and the operator,” Balys says. When milking is completed, semi-automatic washing devices clean the equipment. Bulk milk can be hauled away after each milking or stored in the tank if a cooling system is used.
The company makes larger systems for up to 300 cows. The cost of a double three parlor with 6 milking units, not including the cooling tank, the vacuum unit or the generator, is $7,700.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Marijus Balys or Arunas Juskys, UAB Moto Techa Global, Nevezio g. 24, Berciunai, Panevezio raj. LT 38362 (LITHUANIA) (ph +011-370-45-553-418; agregatai@yahoo.com; www.milkingsystem.com).
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