Patrick Fisk says he was initially motivated to invest in POd to reduce chemical usage and all the associated plastic drums and IBC’s that frequently turned up on farm, but infrequently left. “We now consider the system’s best thing is that it just works without any input from us, as well as the fact it’s safe. There’s the added peace of mind, the farm is now a whole lot greener and we no longer have those incoming plastic containers to deal with.
“We’ve budgeted the system to pay for itself in two to three years. We’re already making significant cost savings in chemical and we’re scheduled to renew the liners twice instead of three times a year,” explain Patrick who manages a 220 cow Holstein Friesian herd near Burwarton, Shropshire.
“POd is programmed to automatically turn on before milking and currently has a triple role – it services the pre-milking teat cleaner, the ADF cluster flush and the DeLaval Hygenis C200 cleaning unit.
“Cows teats used to be cleaned with weak peracetic acid pre-milking spray, it wasn’t great for their udders, nor was it ideal for the staff to be around near the atomised acid spray. We now clean and refresh the teats with the pulse-oxidised water, it’s pH neutral and naturally safer for the cows and the staff, and much better for the planet. The system initially begged the question, was it going to be as effective, however cell count is consistently holding at SCC 160 and Bactoscan 15 to 20.
Secondly, POd has replaced 100% of the peracetic acid that was used in the cluster-flush system, so now the clusters run with a safe, pH neutral, and highly effective disinfectant. POd has also replaced 100% of the chemicals required for CIP parlour wash terminal disinfection.”
