Patent ID: 7089880

Claim:
A method for cooling milk in an automatic milking system, which comprises a milking robot for milking animals, such as cows; a milk storage tank connected to said milking robot for storing milk extracted by the milking robot; and a cooling device for cooling milk stored or to be stored in said milk storage tank by cooling a bottom portion of said milk storage tank, said method comprising the steps of: measuring an amount of milk extracted by said milking robot by a milk flow meter; determining a cooling need for milk stored or to be stored in said milk storage tank based on said measured amount of milk; measuring a quantity indicative of a temperature of an inner surface area of the bottom portion of the milk storage tank; and cooling said bottom portion of said milk storage tank in consecutive periods, such that each period of cooling is followed by a respective period of non-cooling, wherein the duration of each period of cooling and/or non-cooling is based on said measured quantity indicative of the inner surface temperature, and said determined cooling need.