The importance of the quality of the water in the tambo

By the Engineer Agr. Miguel Taverna and the Engineer P.A. Verónica Charlón

The importance of the quality of the water in the tambo can be analyzed from three different optics: the water like nutritious, the water like means for cleaning and the water like natural resource.

The water is the nutrient more consumed by the cows milkmaids. The bovine ones in general and the cows milkmaids in particular, need to consume important quantities of water (of 2 to 4 liters of water for kilogram of ingested dry matter). Parallelly to these quantitative requirements, the physical-chemical composition of the consumed water can condition the productive potential of the animals.

The alternatives that have the producers to solve these problems are limited. Inside oneself property can be modifications in the physical-chemical composition of the drink water; for this reason, it would not be necessary to limit the search to a single perforation. On the other hand, they exist in the alternative market of treatment of water (filtrates, magnetic treatments, inverse osmosis, etc.) that facilitate to correct some of these problems. The biggest inconvenience constitutes it the cost of these teams. At the moment in the EEA Rafaela a work tendiente began to evaluate the impact about the production and the quality of milk of alternative of treatment of water with problems. The results could allow to carry out an economic analysis about the convenience of their adoption in the tambo.

The percentages of mentioned tambos are the result of a report carried out in 151 establishments of the referred basin.

The water for the cleaning

Laundry of the nipples:

The correct laundry of the nipples foresaw to the placement of the pezoneras it constitutes an indispensable practice to limit the bacterial contamination of the milk. The water is used like means to dissolve and to drag the present dirt in the nipples. For the laundry water is not required contaminated bacteriologically.

You can infer that the available water in the tambos presents recounts of bacterias that overcome certain maximum thresholds of acceptance. The Code Alimentary Argentinean denominates drinkable water to that that has equally or less than 3 coliformes (NMP/100ml). The reasons of this contamination are diverse, but in general he/she takes place after the water is extracted. This fact can be observed through the results of a report of water taking samples to the exit of the bombeador and another in the long bone of water of the room of milk. The lack of maintenance of the tank deposit explains, in great measure, this important increment in the recounts.

The registered increment between the bomb and the long bone is deduced from a recount total bacterias mesófilas, of 95%, and of Coliformes, of 48%.

To revert these effects, you should begin with a correct maintenance of the facilities of water. In second place, the polluted water should be clorada (0,3-0,5 mg/l of active chlorine) so that it is drinkable microbiológicamente, through the attaché of chlorine (for example, hipoclorito) to the perforation or the tank. Another alternative is to install a system that doses the disinfectant automatically with the step from the water to the tank.

Laundry of milkers and teams:

The aspects of the quality of water that they have an influence on the sanitización of the team of I milk and tank of cold is the following ones:

The total hardness or grade hidrotimétrico: it is the sum of the concentration of two earthy alkaline cationes-magnesium (Mg) and calcium (Ca)-. it is usually expressed as milligram of Carbonate of Ca (CO3 Ca) for liter of water.

The results show clearly that most of the water used for the laundry presents a high hardness.

The solution of this problem implies the use of detergents and of routines of laundry of the equipment adapted to this reality. The formulation of the detergents used in hard water should privilege two aspects:

1. to be able to antiincrustante: To impede the formation of inlays, the detergent uses in its formulation secuestrantes or complejantes that have the function of impeding the insoluble salts.

2. to be able to desincrustante: In the case peculiar of the machine of milking, the inlays are constituted by a mineral deposition coming from the water (usually of calcareous nature) and of the milk (phosphate, carbonate and lactato of calcium). they are formed by phosphoric acid or other sour compounds that have as purpose to remove resistant residuals that are formed in the team.

Complementarily to the alkaline laundry, the laundry routines should contemplate the use of the sour laundry. When the water is soft it is suggested to use a weekly frequency. In the case of hard or very hard water, the sour laundry should be from 2 to 3 times per week. The sequence would be: rinse initial, alkaline laundry, rinse, laundry acid and final mouthwash.

He/she should leave of an it dilutes drinkable microbiológicamente. If he/she also seeks to be practiced a disinfection of the teams of I milk and of having cooled it should be used a minimum concentration of 100 mg/l of active chlorine or 50 mg/l of iodine.

Floors and walls of the tambo:

The bacteriological demands are not in this case so strict. However, the use of polluted water should be avoided that generates infectious focuses in the tambo. The design of the facilities should facilitate the ventilation and the drying of the floors.

The dangers of the wrong use

The countries that their agricultural production and cattleman have intensified can demonstrate perfectly that certain practices associated with this process are joint of the deterioration of the quality of the water of a region.

Although our production of milk is far from the escalation levels associated with these problems, certain practices as, for example, the handling of the efluentes of the tambo can have a negative effect in case they don't take the due cautions.

In such a sense, the practical recommendations would be centered in a correct planning of the storage and later use of the efluentes. The system of elected storage should avoid the contamination of the napas for infiltration (for that which some impermeabilización system should be used) and to be located at a minimum distance of 50 meters of the perforation of water, of the tambo and of the home. As for the handling of the efluentes, the recommendation would be to avoid the encharcamientos in the moment of its application. This limits the possibilities of contamination of courses of water, channels, gutters.

The readiness of water and the quality of the same one are fundamental for an efficient production of milk. At the same time, their quality (perhaps associated to the concept of sure water used in the proposal of the Senasa) he/she appears as a fundamental approach to guarantee the achievement of quality of milk.

We should preserve the quality of the water adopting practical that respect the atmosphere. In such a sense, some predictions carried out by investigators (classified as pessimists, for some, or as realists, for other) they mention that, of not being adopted the appropriate measures, with running of the time it will be more expensive potabilizar a liter of water that to produce a liter of milk. Although this problem is responsibility of many, the agricultural production cannot stay to the margin.