Summary
This study is related to the POM – Measure 2 – Project B15 ‘Veterinary services computerisation and technical support to livestock farms’, in which innovative plant solutions were introduced to recognise single animals to measure the quantity of milk produced and to centralise and automate management on different cow, sheep and goats farms in the regions of Puglia and Basilicata in Italy. Dynamic tests were used during the milking of the cows in a Puglia plant in which different measurers of the quantity of milk were installed: weight jar, electronic weight milk meter and electronic proportional milk meter. Mechanically, the vacuum level and vacuum fluctuations in three different milk pipe sections were evaluated in a short milk tube, downstream from the claw, above the milk meter. Comparing the results, the authors concluded that the electronic milk meters, such as the electronic proportional milk meter, offer an inferior degree of vacuum variations and less mechanical intervention for cows. This is particularly evident with higher milk flows. The study also demonstrated that vacuum drops during milking can be very critical if not immediately compensated by suitable planning and periodical revision of the plants.

Keywords
Dynamic tests, Italy, Milk meters, Milking plants, Vacuum fluctuations, Weight jars.