Milking Hygiene Protocols for Azerbaijani Dairy Farms

Building a Milking Hygiene Protocol in Azerbaijan

The adoption of structured milking hygiene protocols on Azerbaijani dairy farms varies significantly by operation size and ownership type. Larger farms — particularly those with foreign investment or with veterinary advisory support — typically operate closer to international best practice. Smaller family-run operations often work with simpler protocols or minimal hygiene products.

For any commercial operation targeting milk quality standards set by processors or for export, a structured milking hygiene protocol is a baseline requirement.

The Standard Milking Hygiene Protocol

Step 1 — Pre-milking teat preparation

Before the cluster is attached, each teat should be:

• Visually inspected for lesions or abnormalities
• Prepared with a pre-dip product to kill surface bacteria
• Wiped dry with a clean, individual cloth or towel

Vilnus LACO or Vilnus LA is applied to the teat, allowed 30–60 seconds contact time, then wiped off. This dip-and-wipe sequence removes bacteria along with the product, reducing the bacterial load entering the teat cup liner.

Step 2 — Forestripping

Two or three streams of milk are stripped from each teat into a forestrip cup (not onto the floor) before the cluster is attached. This removes the first milk in the teat canal — the highest-bacteria fraction — and allows visual detection of clinical mastitis (flakes, clots, abnormal color).

Step 3 — Milking

Attach the cluster. Monitor milking progress. Remove the cluster when flow stops — do not overmilk.

Step 4 — Between-animal cluster disinfection

After removal from one cow, before attachment to the next: spray or flush the cluster with xxO Flush PA 5 and allow the contact time before reattachment. This step is particularly important when contagious mastitis is a concern in the herd.

Step 5 — Post-milking teat dipping

Immediately after the cluster is removed, cover the entire teat end with post-dip product. Vilnus 5000 Active provides high-concentration iodine protection for the post-milking window.

Step 6 — End-of-milking circuit cleaning

After milking: alkaline wash with MS CLEAN or CLS CLEAN. Acid descale with MS CID every 1–2 days.

Contact AgroLyne for a product pack covering all steps of this protocol.