The aim of the study was to survey the milking technology and to analyse the associations between milking parlour type, herd size, and milk production parameters on dairy cattle farms. The milking technology was surveyed by using a questionnaire in 417 Hungarian dairy herds with 177,514 cows in 2017, and it was compared with their official farm milk production data. The surveyed farms were categorized according to their size (1-50, 51-300, 301-600, and >600 cows) and to their milking parlour types (herringbone, parallel, carousel, and others). The relationships were analysed by multivariate linear models, one-way ANOVA, and Fisher’s exact test. Pairwise comparisons were performed by Tukey’s post hoc tests. The prevailing type of milking parlour was herringbone (71.0 %), but on larger farms the occurrence of parallel and carousel parlours increased (p<0.001). The number of milking stalls per farm increased with herd size (p<0.001). Farms with herringbone parlour had significantly smaller number of milking stalls than that of parallel (p=0.022) and carousel (p<0.001) parlours, and the cows were mostly milked two times, while in carousel milking parlours mostly three times a day. As the herd size increased, so did daily milk yield (p<0.001) and daily milk production per cow (p<0.001). Herd size was associated with somatic cell count (p<0.001). The type of milking parlour showed significant association with daily milk yield (p=0.039) and dairy units with herringbone milking system had the lowest milk quality. Our findings show that herd size has greater impact on milk production parameters than milking technologies.

The aim of our study was to survey and analyze the use of pre- and post-milking teat disinfectants and milking machine cleaning products in large commercial Holstein-Friesian farms. A total of 43 Hungarian dairy farms with 31,430 cows with an average herd size of 731 cows were surveyed in 2014 by using a questionnaire via personal interviews. In the statistical analysis, we used ANOVA models and Tukey's multiple comparison method. Furthermore, seven in-depth individual interviews were conducted with farm managers. The results showed that 83.7% of the farms used different pre-milking disinfection methods (65.1% teat dips) and all of them applied post-milking disinfection. In the herds, chlorhexidine (42.9%) and other chlorine (21.4%) compounds were the most widely used active ingredients in the pre-milking disinfection, while iodine in the post-milking disinfection (53.8%). Lactic acid was ranked second in both disinfections (25.0 vs. 41.0%). In post-milking teat disinfection, the use of iodine and lactic acid combined with other active ingredients showed a significant relationship with SCC (p = 0.0454; p = 0.0113). In the milking machine cleaning process, the most frequently used active ingredients were sodium hypochlorite (80.0%) and sodium hydroxide (60.0%) as caustic detergents, while phosphoric acid (81.3%) as an acidic product. A significant relationship was found between the use of phosphoric acid combined with nitric acid, and the use of a combination of phosphoric acid, nitric acid, and organic acid and SCC (p = 0.0483; p = 0.0477). For farm decision-makers, the most decisive factor in the procurement of teat disinfectants was the active ingredient (3.4 on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 was the most important), while regarding milking machine cleaning products the price (3.2).

The objective of this study was to survey and analyze milking practices of commercial Holstein-Friesian farms. A total of 43 Hungarian dairy farms with 31,430 cows was surveyed by using a questionnaire via personal interviews. Furthermore, seven in-depth, individual interviews were conducted with farm managers. In the statistical analysis, we used ANOVA models. The results showed that 57.8% of the milking parlors had a herringbone design, followed by parallel (20.0%) and rotary (17.8%) milking systems. For the interviewed farm managers, gentle (71.4%) and quick milking (57.1%) as well as herd size (57.1%) were the most important factors in determining the milking system design. In 62.8% of the farms, cows were milked twice a day, and the average milking time was 5.0 h with an average of 3.1 laborers. The average daily milking time per cow was 15 min and the average daily walking time per cow to the milking parlor and back was 24 min. Furthermore, 85.4% of the farms used traditional elastic milk liners, whereas 14.6% used silicone ones. In total, 57.1% of the interviewed farm managers said that the ideal teat liner should fit the teats correctly and provide gentle milking. Prior to milking, 65.1% of the farms used disinfectant dip and 11.6% used a disinfectant wash, whereas 23.3% still washed the udder with water. The udder was wiped with paper towels in 73.8% of the herds and with cloth in 26.2% of the herds. Forestripping was performed in all herds: 51.2% onto the floor, 46.5% into a cup, and in 2.3% into a paper towel. Further, 85.7% of the interviewed farm managers considered the use of a cup to be the ideal method, but 57.1% deemed a dark-colored piece of rubber/flooring to be similarly acceptable. Cows with mastitis were milked separately in 91.9% of the farms.

The aim of the research was to evaluate the milk quality in the automatic milking system (milking robot) and milking parlor. The somatic cell count is the indicator of inflammation in the udder. If milk ejection is inhibiting, inflammation develops in the udder. Stress is one of the reasons to inhibit milk ejection. As a result the somatic cell count increases but the milk yield decreases. The stress level is higher for primiparous compared with multiparous. The milk yield was significantly greater in the milking robot milked cow milk (28.5±0.60 kg). The somatic cell count was significantly greater in the parlor milked cow milk in the 1 st (319.0±90.69 thousand per ml) and 2 nd (119.0±26.46 thousand per ml, p < 0.05) recordings. The milk yield was not significantly different in the multiparous group. The milk fat and protein contents were greater in the parlor group. The somatic cell count of the multiparous group was significantly greater in the 3 rd recording (146.0±43.92 thousand per ml, p < 0.05). Linear type traits of udder were not different-neither primiparous nor multiparous. Milk ejection was not affected by the linear type of the udder. The stress factor which is responsible for elevated somatic cell count could be the environment factor.

The aim of our study was to investigate the association of per os calcium supplementation with the occurrence of animal health disorders in a large Hungarian dairy herd. The treatment of cows consisted of two per os calcium boluses on the day after calving. The probability of insemination, culling, mastitis, uterine disorders, and lameness were compared in the treated (n=168) vs. control cows (n=136) within 60 days in milk. Data were analysed by logistic regression. Cows that received calcium boluses were 8.09-times more likely to be inseminated (P<0.0001) and 0.34-times less likely to be culled (P=0.001) within 60 days in milk. Treated cows had reduced odds of developing mastitis (odds ratio, OR=0.50, P=0.0387) and lameness (OR=0.15, P=0.005) compared to their control herdmates. Per os calcium boluses can improve animal health in early lactation in high producing dairy cattle.