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Failure is not an option

By Paul Peetz

 

Good hose support

Norman Vincent Peale said, “Repetition of the same thought or physical action develops into a habit which, repeated frequently enough, becomes an automatic reflex.”

Norman Vincent Peale never milked cows for a living, as far as I know, but he understood the most important part of the process, repetition.

In the “Perfect Parlor” we have brought a clean comfortable cow to a clean comfortable parlor for a clean comfortable milking. Sound repetitive enough? It should because repetition is the goal.

Once that clean comfortable cow is delivered to the parlor, what is the most common equipment based problem I see that limits the process? Simply put unit alignment. Unit alignment has been the culprit in more incomplete, uneven milk-outs than any liner, claw or pulsator.

Proper unit alignment requires the repetition Mr. Peale spoke about, repeated so often that it becomes an automatic reflex, something we do as soon as we finish attaching the last teat cup. Perfection requires a similar motion on all cows, resulting in proper alignment on cows of all shapes and sizes.

Perfect unit alignment is a milking unit placed on a cow that does not move the udder from its natural resting position, no twisting, no pulling, just allowing the udder to be in the same position it would be without a unit applied.

Nature has provided a beautiful creature, capable of providing an amazing amount of food, the job then of harvesting that food needs to allow that creature the ability to, as naturally as possible, participate in the process. Many have tried to take milk from a cow, it can be done, but long term success requires both the cow and the machine to work in harmony. Nowhere else in agriculture does a biological entity have such an intimate relationship with a mechanical process.

Take a look today, is the claw heavier than it needs to be? Does the hose make the claw follow it instead of the cow? Are hose supports available and are they used? Attention to detail is needed to deliver success, what can be done to make it easier to succeed and harder to fail?

September 5, 2013

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Paul Peetz knows what it takes to keep milking equipment working efficiently and profitably. By combining
an engineering degree with a lifetime of farming experience, Paul brings common sense solutions to complex
challenges.

Paul is a territory sales manager for Milk-Rite and can be contacted directly at paul.peetz@milk-rite.com.

Tom Wall is passionate about helping people reach their potential. Although Tom speaks Spanish, he’s not a
translator. Tom trains employees and helps dairy managers implement simple systems that work.

Tom owns Dairy Interactive and can be contacted directly at tom@
dairycoach.com
.

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