Today’s dairy cows produce more milk than ever before. Higher capacity and more precise monitoring are essential during milking. And easy-to-use controls are a must in the parlor.

As many farms transition to rotary parlors, they’re incorporating new technology to streamline the milking process for every cow and boost overall efficiency. These new technologies, such as the new DigiFlow flow-through milk meter and DigiTron parlor controls from GEA, deliver greater capacity and precision monitoring.

Here are three technologies designed to take rotary parlors into the future:

1. Instant milk metering

The new GEA DigiFlow milk meter provides continuous, real-time milk monitoring.

“It uses minimal parts for maximum flow,” says Brian Morton, GEA territory manager. “And it has a stable vacuum because there’s nothing to restrict the milk flow.”

Its top benefits include:

• No restrictions: Fill and dump measuring is gone. Milk flows continuously through large inlets and outlets without any slowdowns.
• Stable vacuum: The right balance between air and milk volumes nearly eliminates vacuum fluctuations for the gentlest milking.
• Minimal spare parts: Requires no regular service. Only a few static, long-lasting gaskets should be exchanged as needed.
• High accuracy: Thanks to better measurement capabilities throughout the milking process, units detach more precisely from one cow to the next.
• Real-time data: Engineered to measure milk accurately, even during the highest and lowest periods of milk flow. Conductivity and temperature monitoring during the milking and wash processes provide even more cow and parlor insights.

“This design runs with an ethernet cable, so we have fast communications to continuously monitor the data for accuracy,” says Morton.

2. Intuitive parlor controls

“DigiTron makes the parlor simple to operate,” says Morton. “One of the unique features is the LED light. The display shows expected milking completion at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%.”

The LED light also simplifies operation by relying on colors instead of displaying a cow number.

“When you’re milking a lot of cows at once, you don’t have time to look at the cow number, but you do have time to see if it’s red,” says Morton. “It’s a nice feature for operators to know if something is wrong quickly.”

If the cow doesn’t meet her milking requirements for that milking, an alarm alerts the milking staff. The parlor can also be equipped with a monitor that shows a live overview of the rotary parlor. In the event of an alarm, her stall number will be displayed in red so that operators can take appropriate actions.

“These features help quickly signify something is wrong with the cow, making it quicker to address and resolve the issue,” says Morton.

The controls also have a hotkey that can be preprogrammed for various tasks, such as sorting a cow right from the stall if you have a sort gate.

3. Time-tested herd management

The third piece of technology that ties everything together is DairyNet herd management software. Initially developed for GEA milking robots, the software is now available for conventional milking.

“With reliable, real-time data, your operators and managers can make real-time decisions,” says Morton.

These three technologies comprise GEA’s Smart Digital Milking Control Package, designed to help improve efficiency, enhance milk quality and make smarter herd health management decisions. To take your rotary parlor into the future, contact your local GEA dealer.

GEA offers today’s progressive dairy producers leading-edge milking and manure equipment technology, along with a full line of aftermarket products and services – all under one umbrella. With GEA, you truly have a team who offers comprehensive solutions for your operation at the highest possible operating efficiency.