Bringing the lab to you: An introduction to Calibre’s on-farm dairy testing range
As a dairy farmer, protecting the health of your herd, maintaining the quality of your products and ensuring compliance with safety standards is essential.
For many farmers, that means turning to laboratory testing at various stages of the journey from dairy farm to grocery store.
At Calibre Control, we understand the importance of quick and reliable testing, which is why our range of on-farm dairy testing equipment empowers you with lab-quality results minus the wait – helping you to make informed, timely decisions that safeguard your herd and protect your livelihood.
Have a question about our dairy testing equipment? Don’t hesitate to ask a team member.
Why on-farm dairy testing matters
Today’s dairy farms must respond rapidly to the demands of herd health, market standards, and regulatory compliance.
On-farm testing brings the lab’s precision to the farm gate, delivering instant insights and greater confidence in every decision.
Here are some of the main advantages of on-farm testing:
• Speed and real-time feedback: No more waiting days for lab results. With on-farm testing, results are ready within minutes or hours, enabling you to act quickly to address potential contamination or health concerns.
• More frequent testing: Lower costs and reduced time per test means you can test daily or weekly, not just monthly. This helps to identify trends, monitor equipment changes, and improve long-term outcomes.
• Troubleshooting: The ability to test on the spot means that if bacterial counts spike, for example, you can investigate and correct the problem before it escalates.
• Cost-effectiveness: After the initial investment, frequent on-farm testing leads to lower long-term expenses compared to regular lab fees. In addition to the drop in per-test cost, financial risk is reduced by catching issues early.
• Data control and self-reliance: On-farm testing puts control into the safest pair of hands you know – your own. Dairy farmers retain ownership of their results, reduce reliance on external labs, and directly manage milk quality, herd health and compliance in-house.
• Improved herd management: Fast, targeted testing enables early intervention and proactive care, supporting both the welfare and productivity of your herd.
Calibre Control’s on-farm dairy testing solutions
We bring the technical expertise of a lab to your farm with a range of simple-to-use but scientifically robust on-farm dairy testing equipment.
With user-friendly controls and easy-to-read results, our products offer a comprehensive set of tools helping you to monitor and maintain both milk quality and animal wellbeing.
With solutions for antibiotic detection, compositional analysis, microbiology, physical and chemical tests, and somatic cell count (SCC), we ensure robust milk quality management from every angle.
Here’s how our products help you:
Compositional Testing
Compositional testing measures components such as fat, protein, lactose, solid non-fats, salts and pH using portable milk analysers. For example, a farmer may perform compositional tests each morning to check protein levels.
Then, they can adjust feed rations accordingly, optimising herd nutrition and milk payment premiums. Our range of NIR and milk analysers deliver accurate results rapidly, helping you to make on-the-spot decisions to improve productivity and revenue.
Microbiological Testing
Effective microbiological testing detects bacterial contamination and hygienic breaches in dairy products. Our range of hygiene and microbial detection equipment identifies a range of pathogens including E.coli, salmonella, cronobacter, listeria monocytogenes, enterobacteriaceae and staphylococcus.
Routine on-farm microbiological analysis can identify a rise in mastitis-causing bacteria, for example, before clinical signs appear. This allows farmers to swiftly intervene, reducing the spread of the disease while preserving the quality of their milk.
Antibiotic Residue Testing
Antibiotics play an important role in keeping dairy cows healthy and comfortable. But it’s essential that antibiotic residue doesn’t find its way into the food chain as it can cause sensitivity and allergic reactions in people, plus lead to certain bacteria growing resistant to antibiotics, rendering future antibiotic treatment ineffective.
Calibre’s Charm range of antibiotic testing equipment allows farmers to test for antibiotic residue and take appropriate action immediately, preventing contaminated milk from entering the food chain and avoiding costly rejections.
Physical and Chemical Testing
Physical and chemical milk properties, such as viscosity, temperature and moisture content, are vital for ensuring the safety of your dairy products, as well as their quality and nutritional value.
On-farm testing using the Perton RVA Viscosity Analyser, for example, can pinpoint potential problems like high viscosity that might point to cooling failures, poor cleaning or early spoilage, while temperature and pH testers give instant feedback on milk freshness. These tools allow farmers to resolve handling issues before they impact product or profitability.
Somatic Cell Count (SCC)
Somatic cells are a mixture of white blood cells and udder lining cells that are naturally present in milk, protecting the udder from pathogens. Somatic cell count (SCC) is a critical indicator of udder health, with high SCC levels signalling inflammation and the presence of infections like mastitis.
For rapid and reliable SCC screening, our Lactoscan SCC provides on-farm results in less than a minute, assisting farmers in monitoring herd health and quickly identifying problem animals, protecting both animal welfare and milk premiums.
On-farm dairy testing with Calibre Control
Calibre Control is a vital partner for farmers seeking trusted, accessible solutions for dairy testing.
We supply a range of practical, reliable tools that support everyday farm decisions, helping you to maintain milk quality, protect animal welfare and maximise profits with confidence.
Explore our full range of on-farm dairy testing equipment or contact Calibre Control today for tailored advice you can trust.