Industrial refrigeration is the backbone of the food supply chain as we know it. Still, every refrigeration system ultimately relies on the same components. They’ve become more sophisticated with time, but still play familiar roles. Among those components, one stands out.
With about 218 billion pounds of milk produced every year, America’s dairy farms need plenty of refrigeration power. Milk should be received at 45°F or less and immediately cooled to 41°F. Milk has some of the most stringent refrigeration requirements of any agricultural product out there.
Things have changed quite a bit since the old days of milkmen bringing fresh bottles door to door around the neighborhood. But the demand for milk has skyrocketed since then, and so has the need for professionals to make sure it’s of the highest quality.
You might not think of them as farm equipment, but commercial compressors are among the most important machines on virtually any farm. Powering some of the most demanding refrigeration systems around, they are indispensable to both dairy and meat farms. The bigger the farm, the more refrigeration capacity is needed.
Have you ever wondered about how cheese makes the journey from the farm to your table?
Americans love cheese. In 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported the average American consumed approximately 15 pounds of American cheese alone. The average person could also be expected to eat about 22 pounds of non-American cheese, including pizza mainstays like mozzarella.
In fact, the numbers suggest mozzarella is now unassailable as America’s #1 cheese.
Carrying out the recommended preventive maintenance activities is critical to the optimal operation of commercial milk cooling equipment, and avoiding unnecessary downtimes and service calls. Regular maintenance also helps to reduce the likelihood of milk cooling and refrigeration equipment suffering a major breakdown or permanent damage.
A modern commercial-grade cooling system is a significant investment for a dairy farm. Some of the system’s components consume a lot of energy and can be expensive to replace when broken. With that said, an interruption in the operations of a dairy’s cold room can lead to significant losses.
Milk is a very sensitive commodity. Poor refrigeration could spell doom to your business. You've heard the stories; a farmer has to dump gallons of milk due to poor or inadequate storage conditions.
When milk is first collected, it has a temperature of approximately 98 degrees F. In order for it to be safely stored and maintained it must be cooled to approximately 38 degrees F. 38 degrees is the temperature required to maintain the maximum quality during storage and shipment. In order for the milk to cool sufficiently, 56 BTUs of energy must be removed from every pound of milk processed.
Dairy farmers have been using refrigeration compressors for years to lower the temperature of milk that is harvested to an appropriate storage temperature. The milk must be maintained at that temperature until it is picked up and transported to the dairy. Refrigeration compressors like the Copeland 3D, 4D, and 6D models or Bitzer's 4GE and 6FE models work exceptionally well. Carrier O6E and O6D models are also efficient. All three brands offer reciprocating compressors that cool the milk to the appropriate temperature.