Skellerup’s square milking liners now outsell its round liners, Executive General Manager of Agri Dino Kudrass says.

The design launched under the company’s own VacPlus brand after others were slow to pick up the technology.

“It’s one of those things that when we first launched it, there was a lot of scepticism,” he says.

The company still manufactures about 300 different liner models that are used across the globe.

Early adopters were cautious, but confidence built as word spread between neighbours. He says farmers proved the strongest advocates of the change.

“Generally, when farmers tried them, they didn’t go back; they could see a difference.”

The liner role is less about extraction than stimulation, on a teat dense with nerve endings and exposed to infection. He says it carries that weight because it is the only part of the milking system that touches the cow.

“The liners performing well will maximise the milk quality, and maximise the animal’s comfort, which is intimately linked with the health of the udder, and ultimately milking speed and milk yield.”

Round is the historical shape, held over from the era when liners were extruded tubes known as inflations. Skellerup learned, working with the United States dairy industry, that leaving open the cross-sectional area lets blood travel through the teat.

“Round liners tend to have an effect similar to that of when you put a rubber band on your finger, they swell up – it cuts off the teat’s circulation.

“That’s not good for milk production, and it’s not good for the udder health.”

Square barrels ease that problem, though the design is more than its outline. He says the corner radius, material thickness and barrel geometry all carry the innovation. A square liner fits a round shell, so farmers change only the liner and leave the rest of the cluster alone.

He says liner longevity is measured against a hard ceiling, not the calendar, with deterioration and mastitis risk climbing after about 2,000.

“2,500 milkings is really the benchmark maximum that you should put through a liner.”

Herd and shed size will dictate how quickly that point arrives. Farmers can book a free dairy shed rubberware review through skellerup.com, where Skellerup’s technical team helps spec the right product and troubleshoot issues with your dairy rubberware.

To ensure your rubberware is performing at its best – book a free dairy shed rubberware review today at Skellerup.com

CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson & Sarah Perriam-Lampp is our daily rural show livestreamed from 11am-1pm. Visit country-wide.co.nz on how to watch/listen or download the CountryWide CONNECT mobile app, available on Apple iOS and Android.