Milking pipeline

**Setup:**
– In small dairy farms, the pipeline is installed above animal stalls
– Milking machine is a lightweight hose assembly plugged into sealed access ports
– Farmers in the Dairy Herd Improvement Association measure milk volume monthly
– Large dairy farms have pipelines within milking parlors at fixed stations
– Pipelines are made of stainless steel to resist corrosion and chemicals

**Transfer from pipeline to bulk tank:**
– Milk flows under vacuum from pipeline to bulk tank
– Receiver bowl with liquid-detecting probes helps transfer milk via pump
– Secondary bowl prevents overflow by cutting off vacuum to the pipeline
– Some systems use rubber seals on bulk tank covers for direct gravity flow
– Check valve prevents milk in bulk tank from being sucked back into the receiver bowl

**Pipeline cleaning:**
– Washing system rinses out remaining milk and flushes cleaning solution
– Milkstone, a layer of scale, is removed by the cleaning process
– Vacuum in the system is used to drive the cleaning process
– Cleaning solution is moved back to the wash-water supply tank by the transfer pump
– Ports on the receiver globe are designed for vigorous cleaning of the interior

**The 15 km Ameland milk pipeline:**
– Ran between Ameland and Holwerd, with 8km under the Wadden Sea
– Transported 30,000 litres of milk daily from the island to the mainland
– Milk transport through the pipeline was abandoned in 1994

**See also:**
– Agriculture and Agronomy portal
– Dairy farming
– Bulk tank

**References:**
– Amelandse melk niet meer door Waddenzeepijp, Reformatorisch Dagblad 20 January 1994.