The effect of manual forestripping on milking performance of Holstein dairy cows

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of forestripping as a premilking stimulation technique on milk yield, milking unit attachment time, and milk flow rates in Holstein dairy cattle. Multiparous Holstein cows (n = 24) were divided into two groups (HPE, high producing, early lactation; LPL, low producing, late lactation) based on prestudy milk yield and stage of lactation. Within the production group, cows were randomly assigned into treatment (n = 6) and control groups (n = 6) in a switchback design. Cows were milked twice daily and treatments were switched after 20 milkings. Premilking udder preparation for the treatment group was as follows: forestripping, predipping with 0.5% iodine, and drying with paper towels followed by unit attachment. Udder preparation for the control group was identical except forestripping was not performed. Data were analyzed by using the PROC Means and PROC Mixed models described by SAS. During the study, cows in the HPE group produced significantly more milk and had longer milking unit attachment times compared with cows in the LPL group. The milk flow rate was 0.36 kg/min faster for the HPE cows compared with the LPL cows. There was no significant effect of order of treatment administration on any outcome variable. There were no significant differences in milk yield, milk unit attachment time, or milk flow for animals that were forestripped compared with animals that were not forestripped. In this study, the addition of forestripping to an otherwise acceptable premilking udder preparation routine did not increase milking performance of multiparous Holstein dairy cows.