| Dairy producers use large amounts of water, energy and chemicals to clean milking systems. Research is needed to reduce inputs and waste generated to better manage the water resources and adverse impacts on the environment.; This research was specifically designed to develop and evaluate the performance of a prototype conservation wash system using three conservation wash strategies (reuse, recycle and rotational recycle), compared to the Ruminant Animal Center (RAC) standard wash system, by the following performance criteria: (i) water use, (ii) wash chemical use, (iii) energy use, (iv) sanitation, (v) environmental impact and (vi) a cost analysis.; This study shows that this on-farm prototype conservation wash system developed can substantially reduce the volume of water by 56%, chemical use by 49%, energy use by 13.2%, environmental loading by 17% to 79% and annual cost by 22%, while not affecting milk quality and maintaining adequate sanitation levels in the milking system. |
