A joint venture between North Yorkshire engineering firm JF Hudson and Metcalfe Farms has spawned a natty device that carries the weight of cluster pipework during milking.

Development work began after Metcalfe’s herd management software revealed twice as many mastitis cases on the front teats compared with the back ones, which it reckoned was caused by off-balance clusters.

See also: Video: How a dairy farmer cut concentrate costs by £30,000

The retrofit plastic support was fitted to the stainless-steel skirt of the farm’s 72-point Boumatic Xcalibur rotary parlour but JF Hudson says it can be adapted to various rotary, herringbone and rapid-exit setups.

It is designed to operate with an automatic cluster removal (ACR) system.

In work, the cluster is attached, the support is swivelled into its upright position and the milk pipe and twin pulse tubes are slung into one of three slots, depending on the height of the udder, to hold them horizontally.

This maintains even weight balance and vacuum distribution across the cluster.

The ACR cord is then threaded through a lower slot so that, when it retracts on completion of the milking cycle, it pulls the support device with it.

At the same time, the pipes fall out of the slot and the cluster hangs in position, ready for the next cow.

Metcalfe Farms has reported significant drops in liner slips, kick-offs and reattachments – as well as a reduction in front-quarters mastitis cases – since fitting the Lactalign units.

Prices vary depending on the installation requirements, but are typically about £150/milking point.