Decrease Dairy Cleaning Costs with Table Salt and Tap Water

This week, newly released research from a team of engineers at Penn State University showed that a safer option for cleaning milking systems on dairy farms may also decrease cleaning time and cost.

"We use very harsh chemicals in an acid-based and alkaline-based cleaning system on farms," said Robert Graves, professor emeritus of agricultural and biological engineering.

"We want to minimise the hazard to the people using this stuff."

The researchers studied the effectiveness of the first three cycles of the Cleaning-in-Place process - warm water rinse, alkaline wash and acid rinse - using electrolysed oxidising, or EO, water in place of harsher chemicals typically used in the alkaline and acid washes.

They found the use of EO water was just as effective as the chemicals traditionally used, which can be harmful to humans if touched or ingested - click here to read more.

In market news, this week’s Global Dairy Trade event saw a rise in the GDT price index of 3.8 per cent, following on from a 2.1 per cent rise at the previous auction. Whole Milk Powder and Lactose showed the biggest gains, at increases of 7.5 per cent and 8 per cent respectively.

Arla announced that the amba on-account price will reduce, with effect from 1 May 2016, by one eurocent per kg.

Arla Foods amba Farmer Board Director, Johnnie Russell, commented: “The continuing decline of milk prices is of deep concern to all involved in the dairy industry and the entire world market is at an unsustainably low level right now.

“Arla is doing all it can to mitigate the downturn of the markets and is working hard to move the extra milk volume from our farmer owners into branded sales and foodservice. However, even those areas are also now being affected by the global imbalance between supply and demand.” - Read more.