Recent Research and Developments in Machine Milking—A Review

Milking machine research has centered upon the relationship of the machine to mastitis in recent years. Survey data from Denmark indicates 6.6% of infections in problem herds were accounted for by milking machine factors. This review indicates that two factors, pulsation failure and the impact mechanism, consistently influence the new infection rate. Pulsation failure may consist of the mechanical failure of the pulsator, shortness of the liner barrel, or too short a rest phase of the liner. These conditions apparently fail to produce an adequate compressive load on the teat tissue to relieve congestion.