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ISRAEL
Computerized Milking
Increases Exports
YITZCHAK DINUR
Special to The Jewish News
T
MARY
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Call For Details
RICK WALD
70
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1991
489-5862
•
saham, a company be-
longing to Kibbutz
Afikim in the Jordan
Valley, was awarded the
"Outstanding Exporter"
award for the success it has
achieved with its sophisti-
cated milking system and for "
increasing its exports so
remarkably over the last few
years. In 1988, exports rose by
85 percent, and in 1989 by a
further 40 percent, with
Afikim's milking system,
"Afimilk," managing to com-
pete successfully with pro-
ducts from giant companies
world famous for the quality
of their milking machines,
such as Alfa-Laval of Sweden,
Westphalia of Germany and
Surge of the U.S.
Mechanical milking is not
new, nor is automatic
registration of milk yield,
which the big companies com-
puterized some time ago. The
Afimilk system, however, is
much more than an ordinary
milking machine because it
does more than simply milk
the cow and register the yield:
it also supplies additional in-
formation of a kind that
makes dairy farming both
simpler and more profitable.
So much so that in the United
States, investment in this
system is returned within
nine months, in Israel within
one and a half years and in
Europe within two years. U.S.
and Dutch research has
shown that this is the out-
come of an increse in annual
production of some 1,000
liters of milk per cow
resulting in a rise in profits of
$200 annually per cow.
What makes this milking
system so special? Whereas
ordinary milking machines
measure only the milk pro-
duction of each cow (at each
milking cumulatively), the
Afimilk system measures
three features — milk produc-
tion, the electrical conductivi-
ty of the milk and the number
of steps taken by the cow bet-
ween milkings. (A cow which
is edgy and nervously moving
around needs to be checked).
By simple combinations of
these three measurements,
the system can easily tell two
facts of vital importance to
the dairy farmer. Firstly, from
looking at the milk yield and
electrical conductivity of the
milk it can tell if the cow is
suffering from mastitis — in-'
flammation of the udder —
which reduces the milk yield,
renders the milk unfit for
human consumption and, if
not treated, can kill the
animal. The early discovery of
this disease is a great boon for
the dairy farmer.
Secondly, since excessive
movement often indicates
that a cow is in heat, the
milking system, by connec-
ting between the milk yield
and the number of steps
taken between milkings, in-
dicates when the cow is in
heat and is ready for artificial
insemination.
This is the single most im-
portant piece of information
in dairy farming, and its ear-
ly determination is both
labor-saving and greatly ad-
vantageous, since it improves
the calving rate and raises
milk production. In herds of
120 cows, the Afimilk system
replaces two experienced
dairy farmers who would
otherwise be constantly
engaged in looking out for
these signs.
The Afimilk system
is much more than
an ordinary milking
machine.
The heart of Afimilk is a
unique little orange box at-
tached to a hind leg of each
cow. This box contains a
microprocessor, which in ad-
dition to holding the cow's
identification and vital statis-
tics, also gathers the above-
mentioned information and
transmits it to the dairy
farm's central computer,
where details of illness and of
readiness for insemination
are derived. Development of
the microprocessor, the box
and attachment took more
than three years as the box
had to be able to withstand
rough treatment and cor-
rosive conditions. The
developers believe that they
are 10 years ahead of all other
milking-machine coinpanies.
When using this system, all
the milker has to do is attach
the four milking cups to the
cow's dugs. The rest of the
procedure, including removal
of the cups on completion of
milking, is done automatical-
ly. Each milker can conse-
quently handle more cows.
Afimilk has had a resoun-
ding success in Israel and is
now having similar success in
the United States and
Eastern Europe, where sales
have jumped in the last year
to $1 million. It is estimated
that sales there will grow by
some 400 percent in the next
two years.
❑