System and method for monitoring and controlling milk production at dairy farms

An automated method for controlling the quantity and quality of milk production at a dairy farm site regardless of the milking equipment, operable by a milk control authority for compliance with international genetic, zoological and sanitary regulations and norms, comprising using at least two modules of a modular and transportable system to carry out steps comprising:

• assigning each dairy farm or herd a unique identification code;
• assigning each milk producing animal in said dairy farm or herd a unique animal identification code;
• providing means for measuring quantitative milk production from an individual dairy animal using a milk flow meter temporarily connectable with a milking machine for an individual dairy animal, which milk flow meter is capable of continuously weighing milk produced per unit time by an individual dairy animal during a single milking session;
• providing means for qualitative analysis of the composition of a sample of milk from an individual dairy animal, which means includes an infra-red optical mode associated with said milk flow meter said infra-red probe being connected with an analyzer capable of detecting qualitative composition of milk;
• providing system control and memory means in each of said qualitative measuring means and qualitative analysis means;
• entering a dairy herd code into the system control means and thereby initiating control of the herd and accessing stored data for said herd and each individual dairy animal therein;
• entering an individual dairy animal identification code in the system control means when the corresponding individual dairy animal is present at the milking machine, thereby activating the milk flow meter;
• measuring quantitative milk production from the individual dairy animal at the milking machine using said means for measuring quantitative milk production, thereby continuously charting the milk flow curve for said animal;
• qualitatively analyzing a sample of milk from the individual dairy animal at the milking machine using the infra-red optical probe associated with the milk flow meter;
• detecting completion of milking session as indicated by said milk flow meter, and entering a completion of milking signal into the system control means;
• indicating that the analysis can commence;
• and
• storing in the system memory data from the milking session.