The effects of milking management applied in village-based dairy cattle enterprises on milk and udder structure

This study investigated the effects of milking techniques on udder health. Information from a total of 60 farms, comprising 33 employing manual milking and 27 utilizing machine milking, located in the villages of Havza district in Samsun province, has been assessed. Examination results were also scrutinized for 71 manually-milked and 61 machine-milked cows within these farms. A face-to-face survey was conducted in the farms, addressing milking techniques, milker demographics, including age, gender, education, storage conditions, and knowledge about milking machines, along with questions related to milking techniques. The findings indicate a lower incidence of mastitis in animals subjected to manual milking compared to those subjected to machine milking. It was observed that cows undergoing manual milking had a shorter distance between their udder structures and the ground. The majority of the surveyed milkers were males aged 51 and above. In farms with less than ten animals, milkers were mostly women. It was noted that milkers in machine milking operations lacked sufficient knowledge about the machines they used. Keywords: Cow, Milking techniques, Milker, Mastitis