increase font size
Milk cooling accounts for 30% of total energy costs of the dairy.
Milk cooling affects milk quality: the quicker the milk is cooled after milking, the better the quality when it is collected from the farm.
Choosing the right cooling system for your farm has many good results.
Lower energy costs: milk cooling accounts for about 30% of the total energy costs of operating a dairy. Energy demand and farm dairy running costs can be cut by heat recovery from your cooling system.
Less risk of penalties due to milk temperature: raw milk grows bacteria rapidly above 7°C. Meeting the new milk cooling standards (in force from June 2018) may mean changes are required for your system.
New milk cooling standards: the MPI ‘NZ code of practice for the design and operation of farm dairies’ contains the new milk cooling standards.
The rules state that raw milk must:
a) be cooled to 10°C or below within four hours of the commencement of milking; and
b) be cooled to 6°C or below within the sooner of:
i) six hours from the commencement of milking, or
ii) two hours from the completion of milking; and
c) be held at or below 6°C without freezing until collection or the next milking; and
d) must not exceed 10°C during subsequent milkings.
Continuous or extended milking systems (AMS): in situations where there is continuous or extended milking, such as automated milking systems, the milk must enter the bulk milk tank at 6°C or below.
‘Continuous or extended milking’ is defined as milking for six hours or longer from the time the milk first enters any bulk milk tank.
Do you meet the new standards? Check the performance of your current plate heat exchanger.
Consult with your milk company to determine if your current system will meet the new milk chilling requirements.
Fonterra has a tool to estimate your vats; other milk companies may have similar resources.
As spring calving farmers around the country enter in the final stage of lactation, the incentive to keep the milk flowing is certainly there. A strong milk price and kind first half of the season has left cows in good nick and milking well.
As a strong dairy cooperative, Fonterra understands the importance of providing comprehensive assistance to farmers, including a range of services at no extra cost.
Fonterra farmers can now lease next generation milk chilling technology and enjoy the many benefits that come with it.
John and Donna McCarty no longer use intermammary antibiotics for mastitis or dry cow treatment, which has saved them money and improved herd health.
On the eve of his departure from Federated Farmers board, Richard McIntyre is thanking farmers for their support and words of encouragement during his stint as a farmer advocate.
A project reducing strains and sprains on farm has won the Innovation category in the New Zealand Workplace Health and Safety Awards 2025.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ), in partnership with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and other sector organisations, has launched a national survey to understand better the impact of facial eczema (FE) on farmers.
One of New Zealand's latest and largest agrivoltaics farm Te Herenga o Te Rā is delivering clean renewable energy while preserving the land's agricultural value for sheep grazing under the modules.
Global food company Nestle’s chair Paul Bulcke will step down at its next annual meeting in April 2026.
Brendan Attrill of Caiseal Trust in Taranaki has been announced as the 2025 National Ambassador for Sustainable Farming and Growing and recipient of the Gordon Stephenson Trophy at the National Sustainability Showcase at in Wellington this evening.
OPINION: Last week, Greenpeace lit up Fonterra's Auckland headquarters with 'messages from the common people' - that the sector is…
OPINION: Once upon a time the Fieldays were for real farmers, salt of the earth people who thrived on hard…
