Milk Route

Many years of research have made Norwegian dairy cows healthier and more productive than ever. In Europe, only Iceland uses fewer antibiotics in its cattle than Norway. Healthy animals release fewer greenhouse gases than animals battling with disease.

Each and every dairy cow in Norway has had its own health card since 1975. Health records were digitised a long time ago. Almost 93 per cent of active TINE members are also members of “Ku-kontrollen”, which collects health data. This information is used to both prevent and treat diseases. As a result, Norwegian cows have never been healthier, and the quality of their milk has never been better.

TINE can use regular health data from “Ku-kontrollen” to intervene early on and prevent or reduce disease, thereby helping farmers to maintain production. Nowadays, the average dairy cow produces just over 8000 litres of milk a year, compared with approx. 2000 litres in the “good old days” 75 years ago. The fact that more milk is being produced by fewer cows results in reduced greenhouse gas emissions – good for the environment. Norway is one of the very best in the world in this regard.

In times gone by, people thought of herds of Norwegian goats grazing in the mountains in summer. A frugal animal that uses sparse natural resources and keeps the vegetation down. But goats also rekindle memories of the bitter, rancid taste of milk and cheese.

The “Healthier Goats” project began in 2001. Its aim was to combat caprine arthritis encephalitis (CAE), goat plague and paratuberculosis in Norwegian goats. The Goat Health Service at TINE Consultancy headed the project.

The “Healthier Goats” project has now combated CAE, goat plague and paratuberculosis. It took 15 years to make Norwegian goats the healthiest goats in the world. The results are attracting a great deal of international attention, to say the least.

The goats have happier lives, their problems with disease are no more, and they live in freshly renovated barns where there are good procedures in terms of infection protection, feeding and care. Milk yields have increased while feed concentrates consumption is falling.

Norwegian goat’s milk now tastes like goats milk should taste – it is sweet and tasty. The bitter, rancid taste disappeared when the diseases were wiped out. Delicious milk from healthy goats is now being used to make new cheeses and other delicacies, to the delight of consumers.

Did you know that, Norwegian farms are in second place when it comes to using fewer antibiotics? Only Iceland is ahead of us. This low consumption of antibiotics has come about due to Norway’s long-term emphasis on good animal welfare. This has given us unique stocks of healthy dairy cows.

Good animal health makes a good contribution to our climate report, because healthy animals result in lower greenhouse gas emissions and produce more milk of better quality. As a result, very little of the milk produced here in Norway is wasted.

Norway provides the best milk quality in the world. Governmental requirements are in place that state cattle must be put out to graze or spend time out in a paddock for at least eight weeks a year. Only Norway and Sweden have such requirements when it comes to milk production. Besides strict governmental requirements, TINE has been working with an animal welfare indicator since 2016 for objective measurement of animal welfare. The indicator is based on international standards. Alongside health data from “Ku-kontrollen”, this should help to ensure that our more than 200,000 dairy cattle are healthy and treated well.

TINE is obliged to collect milk, so we collect milk from more than 8000 farms of all sizes all over Norway, all year round. Our tanker drivers have two important jobs to do. They transport the milk, and they check its quality. The tanker driver is the first element in our quality assurance, making sure that the milk is clean and fresh. Before pumping the milk into the tanker, it is checked to make sure the temperature does not exceed four degrees, that the tank is well ventilated and that the milk is of a correct, consistent white colour, with no lumps in it. If it meets all these requirements, pumping can begin. The driver himself/herself can stop the pumping operation if the quality is not as it should be – this provides an extra level of safety.

Every modern tanker is like a laboratory on wheels, with one main objective: to keep the milk clean, and to prevent the temperature of the milk exceeding four degrees. This is not as simple as it sounds, with the changing seasons and temperature fluctuations. Tapping takes place at the farm and regular samples are taken from the tanker, collecting them in a test container. Each sample is labelled with a QR code containing information on the farm from which the milk was collected. The driver then places the sample in the fridge on board the tanker before submitting it to the dairy for testing and analysis.

Trip computers are fitted in our tankers and distribution vehicles. These measure fuel consumption and driving behaviour, among other things, and have been an important tool in our efforts to ensure greener driving among our drivers. A course focusing on driving style has been held for the drivers. Surveys of tanker transport are showing a reduction in fuel consumption in excess of 10 per cent as a consequence of changes in driving style. A more defensive driving style is very significant when it comes to road safety in both summer and winter. It also results in less wear and tear on both the tyres and the vehicle itself.

Transport that is as efficient as possible is important both for rational transport and for the environment. This is true of inbound transport, interim transport and distribution. Therefore TINE has invested in a new computer tool and trained its staff. TINE also has talented staff who work with route planning for both tanker operations and distribution.

TINE’s aim is for all transport to be based on 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025. We must use a lot of different measures if we are to achieve this target.

We are seeing rapid development in respect of technology. TINE wants to be at the head of the queue when it comes to trying new technological solutions. Examples of this include the order of the Nikola One hydrogen-electric trailer and the partnership with Scania for testing a hybrid truck. Other types of green technology are also of interest, such as renewable fuel from forestry waste, hydrogen, biogas and electricity.

Not least, we have high hopes for our #Kukraft project, where the first TINE trucks will be running on eco-friendly biogas made from cow dung.

“At least 100 of our vehicles must have switched to cow dung-based biogas by 2022. Being the first food producer in Europe to start using biogas from our own cow dung not only provides climate benefits, it also gives our dairy farmers – and TINE as a future energy producer – new opportunities,” says Lars Galtung, Director of Communication and Sustainability at TINE.

The third of the operating time of a tanker is spent pumping milk into the tanker at farms. Using electric pumps for all tankers will allow TINE to reduce its diesel consumption by about 1 million litres a year.

This will reduce annual emissions of CO₂ by around 3000 tonnes. The first tanker with an electric milk pump began operating in 2018.

Milk is currently pumped from the farm tank to the tanker using a hydraulic pump connected to the power takeoff on the internal combustion engine. Only a small amount of the energy consumed is used for pumping the milk in this process: the rest is used to keep the large diesel engine running. A lot of this idling time can be eliminated by using new technology.

“TINE’s aim is for all 250 of its tankers in Norway to have battery-powered pumps. This will have an important part to play in achieving our aim of sustainable transport," says Vidar Hauan, Director of Tanker Transport at TINE.

Electric pumping is almost silent. This means that there will be a considerable reduction in the amount of noise at the farm while milk is being collected.

“We collect a lot of milk at night, so noiseless pumping of the milk will be an advantage for people on the farm while also enhancing the work environment for the driver,” says Frode Eggan, Fleet Manager for TINE tanker transport.

Trip computers are fitted in our tankers and distribution vehicles. These measure fuel consumption and driving behaviour, among other things and have been an important tool in our efforts to ensure greener driving among our drivers.

A course focusing on driving style has been held for drivers. Surveys of tanker transport are showing a reduction in fuel consumption more than 10 per cent as a consequence of changes in driving style. A more defensive driving style also results in less wear and tear on the vehicle and tyres and has a major impact on road safety in both summer and winter.

TINE’s heavy goods vehicles travel 52.5 million kilometres a year. This is equivalent to travelling 1300 times around the world. With so much driving, even small improvements that we make will have major environmental benefits. Our aim is for all our transport to use renewable energy by 2025. TINE would like to be at the cutting edge of efforts to bring about a green transformation in the transport industry.

In early 2016, TINE began a comprehensive environmental initiative for all its transport operations. We are aiming to replace all our trucks with the most modern engine technology based on EURO-VI or newer by 2020. This will reduce particulate emissions to almost zero compared with today’s engines: this is particularly important in large towns and cities, where this is a problem in winter.

We are upgrading our drivers as well! New trip computers provide immediate feedback on driving behaviour and help to reduce idling and abrupt acceleration and braking; and in combination with better route planning, this has already ensured that we have fewer vehicles on the roads.

TINE has also reviewed its interim transport over the past few years. This relates primarily to transportation from producing dairies to the dairies from which goods are distributed. As a result, significantly more goods have now been transferred from road to rail. This is a positive factor for the environment.