Lactalign has been installed for 6,099,040 million milkings to date and can be retrofitted to rotary, rapid exit and herringbone configurations
Lactalign has won an Innovation Award as a device designed to counter the often-costly impact of uneven weight and vacuum distribution of a milking cluster.
Mastitis is still the biggest disease cost on dairy farms and Lactalign is a simple but effective addition to the milking parlour tool that can help in the prevention of mastitis.
Mastitis in the dairy herd costs on average $500 a case, and if individual cows have multiple mastitis cases across a lactation, the costs soon add up.
Now installed on four NMR RABDF Gold Cup winning farms and having done 6,099,040 million milkings to date*, Lactalign is helping to control the disease among high-yielding herds.
The Innovation Award was presented at the UK’s largest agricultural machinery and technology show LAMMA. For years the awards have celebrated advances in the farming industry and highlighted the contribution of agricultural manufacturers to the sector.
The entries were judged by an independent panel of industry experts according to a range of criteria including design innovation, practical impact, the sustainability of the product and its impact on the environment.
The product was developed after the herd management software used by Metcalfe Farms in North Yorkshire, revealed twice as many mastitis cases in front quarters compared to the rear quarters, despite the herd having below average cases overall.
The farm approached local design and agricultural engineering firm JF Hudson to help with a solution, which was trialled on the farm’s BouMatic rotary parlour.
Individual and pivoted supports at each milking point, just require the milking staff to raise the supports and quickly select one of three slots in which to place the long milk and pulsation tubes after attaching the cluster, depending on the profile of the udder.
The ACR cord is slipped in or below the same slot, and when milking is complete and ACR activated, the retracting cord causes the support to pivot back to its rest position.
Lactalign was installed on all 72 points of the Metcalfe Farms rotary milking parlour at Washfold Farm in December 2020. The device has resulted in a 59% reduction in liner slip, a 47% reduction in kick-offs, a 65% reduction in re-attachments and a 50% reduction in mastitis cases in front quarters.
Philip Metcalfe who runs the 1,300-cow dairy unit on this diverse family business said, “The significant impact has been better than we could have expected or even hoped for.
“They have paid for themselves several times over in the reduction of mastitis but also reduce operator frustration and improved animal comfort with less liner slip, kick-offs and re-attachments.
“The Lactalign supports have done nearly 3 million milkings with only two parts requiring replacement which shows the quality of Lactalign supports,” Philip Metcalfe concluded.
James Hudson MD of JF Hudson Ltd, the maker of Lactalign said, “We are extremely proud to receive the LAMMA Innovation Award for Lactalign. It’s a fantastic accolade.
“We are delighted that LAMMA has recognised the innovation that went into developing Lactalign as at JF Hudson we pride ourselves on taking the initiative on problem solving for farmers.
“Helping farmers to maximise their operations while reducing inputs motivates us when designing products. Lactalign is a prime example of keeping that in mind to come up with a simple device that will provide the solution without adding extra time, labour or costs by using it.
“Introducing ways to reduce costs on your dairy unit is well worth it. We all know that the coming year won’t be a smooth ride. High input costs are a challenge and combined with other rising prices, it all puts pressure on margins.
“We appreciate LAMMA providing us exhibitors with a platform to highlight our commitment to supporting farmers preserve profitability as much as possible against factors they cannot control,” James Hudson added.
LAMMA is not the first time that the device has been recognised for its innovative design – in September 2022 Lactalign received the Highly Commended in the Award for Innovation category at The Cream Awards 2022.
Lactalign is currently talking to local firms about becoming the Importer/dealer so enquiries direct to owner and partner James Hudson are welcome on mobile: +44 (0)7803 765440, or by email to: info@lactalign.com
See full details on lactalign on this link, while the latest latest news on Lactalign is available here.
See the test results
Lactalign was independently tested and verified by milking expert Ian Ohnstad, consultant with The Dairy Group. Conclusions of his three-month study is available here
About the Dairy Group The Dairy Group is a privately owned dairy consultancy business, with consultants working throughout the UK and overseas- more details here
* 6,099,040 million milkings estimated by 09.01.23
