Understanding bimodality, assessing causes and defining solutions can aid in better milking performance. Watch Lely industry experts explain how modern dairy farms “milk the right cow every time” using data, robotics, and precision technology.
By Paul Peetz, Milking Technologies Manager, Lely North America
A complete milking for every quarter of every cow, every time, is what we all strive for. On our way to that goal, we encounter many challenges. One challenge is bimodal milking: a delayed milk letdown, or even absence of milk in one or more teats during the milking process. Bimodality can strongly impact both milk production and cow health. Let’s examine its impact on dairy farm performance, and outline strategies to effectively reduce its occurrence.
Bimodality explained
Bimodality is an inefficient milking, characterized by a decrease in milk speed often caused by incorrect pre-milking actions.
FIGURE 1: Shows what a bimodal milking looks like, in terms of milk flow and the duration of the milking process. While the machine doing the milk harvest continues to function as designed, the cow — specifically the teat tissue — can be quite negatively affected due to this unexpected reduction in milk flow.
Cow health and milk yield
Bimodality can cause the teat to fit the teat liner differently. This change in fit can cause the vacuum in the mouthpiece area of the teat liner to rise and cause congestion in the teat tissue. This congestion can lead to slower milking and uncomfortable cows, reducing the chances of a complete harvest.
When bimodality is reduced, a better milking can be achieved.
Cause and effect: “Where does bimodality come from?
To improve cow health and increase milk yield, bimodality needs to be reduced. For that to happen, we first need to understand where it comes from.
Milking is a natural process, with the goal for cows to feed their calves. When a calf needs feeding, it will first touch the udders before drinking from the teats. This stimulation is very important and when forgotten, rushed or ineffectively done in dairy farming, can result in bimodality.
While most dairy farmers have a certain pre-milking treatment as part of their milking process, bimodality still exists on a large scale.
It’s important to remember that each cow is unique. While a one-size-fits-all approach is easiest for farmers, it is not always what a cow needs. Every cow has different needs for pre-milking stimulation, and while an individual approach is challenging, it can be made possible through innovations like the pretreatment optimizer from Lely.
Reducing bimodality through milking technologies
Automated milking through robots has improved and optimized the milking process over the years. With this technology, we focus on three parts of the milking process: pre-milking, milking and post-milking.
Over the new technologies and optimizations have been introduced for all parts of the process, including the addition of pretreatment brushes. These brushes stimulate the teats in the milking robot prior to milking, which helps improve the milking process.
Setting bimodality goals
Realistically, it is nearly impossible to fully prevent bimodality. One reason as to why is the need to balance total milking time.
For example, when done right, pretreatment can reduce the number of bimodal milkings, usually by extending the brushing time. However, if you extend this time too much, the total milking time increases, potentially impacting the overall results of the farm.
The percentage of bimodal milkings is different for every dairy farm and every cow, so it is up to every farmer to set their own realistic goals, based on where they are right now, and the desired situation for their farm.
Data-driven pretreatment
Advancements have been made with a new data-driven approach to pre-milking treatment that uses information gathered during the milking process to automatically adjust pretreatment settings for each individual cow. Testing on dozens of farms worldwide showed a 40% reduction in bimodal milkings within just four weeks, highlighting the significant potential of smart, individualized adjustments to improve milking efficiency.
The ongoing development in milking technology continues to drive progress in this area. By constantly exploring new solutions, the industry is better equipped to reduce bimodality, enhance cow comfort and improve overall farm performance.
Want to hear more?
Watch Lely industry experts explain how modern dairy farms “milk the right cow every time” using data, robotics, and precision technology. This webinar shows how tools like robotic milking and herd management software can boost milk production, improve cow health and comfort. See it here.