Consultant Opportunity: Milking Parlors Service Consultant and Technician – SQIL Project

CONSULTANCY OPPORTUNITY

Milking Parlors Service Consultant and Technician

Safety and Quality Investment in Livestock (USDA Food for Progress SQIL)

Tbilisi, Georgia

Organization Background: Land O’Lakes’ Venture37 is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit helping communities around the world build economies by strengthening agriculture from farm-to-fork, helping businesses grow, and linking farmers to markets. Since our start in 1981, we have been leveraging nearly 100 years of expertise in dairy, animal nutrition, crop inputs and agricultural insights from our close affiliate, Land O’Lakes, Inc., a farmer-owned agribusiness committed to fulfilling its purpose of feeding human progress.

Our team is made up of nearly 350 employees who are committed to market-led approaches, and passionate about collaborating locally to create lasting inclusive economic growth. By unlocking the potential of agriculture for the last 40 years, the lives of more than 3 million people have been transformed through nearly 300 programs in more than 80 countries.

Project Description: The USDA Food for Progress Safety and Quality Investment in Livestock (USDA Food for Progress SQIL) project is an eight-year demand-driven project that will improve food safety and quality along Georgia’s dairy and beef value chains. From farm-to-fork, USDA Food for Progress SQIL aims to reduce losses, improve food safety and quality, boost competitiveness, productivity and trade within the Georgian dairy and beef market systems. The project achieves these goals through an integrated approach of expanding market access, improving sanitary standards, strengthening postharvest handling and storage, increasing productivity, improving access to finance, and promoting regulatory reforms.

Consultancy Background: The commercial dairy sector in Georgia is relatively nascent, with only about 30 milking parlors currently operating in the country and a few hundred mobile milking machines. These parlors are imported by local traders, but due to low demand and a small market size, there is no dedicated service for regular inspection and maintenance. Additionally, many dairy farmers are not fully aware of the importance of routine checks, replacing consumables such as liners, and proper vacuum pump maintenance and calibration to increase the equipment’s useful life, improve productivity, and reduce animal illness.

The majority of current milking parlors are Herringbone configurations (3×2 – 6×2) with individual pulsators and service between 50 – 60 milking cows. The main brands on the market include: Melasty, Polanes, Amax, Gea, and Delaval with an average use of between 1 – 5 years.

In March 2025, USDA Food for Progress SQIL hosted an international consultant to make recommendations to improve milking practices and cattle mastitis prevention. During the consultant’s visit to commercial dairy farms, problems were identified with milking parlors including unstable vacuum levels and malfunctioning pulsators. In addition, incomplete cleaning routines and preventative maintenance was also observed.

Purpose and Objectives of the Assignment: The USDA Food for Progress SQIL project is seeking a technical expert in milking parlor diagnostics and repairs to provide maintenance service to an envisioned 9 milking parlors in Georgia and to improve farm owner’s awareness in preventative maintenance for milking parlors. In addition, the technical expert will provide hands-on training to technicians from a local input supply company that aims to establish a machine milking maintenance service. These technicians will accompany the expert during service visits to gain practical experience and promote knowledge transfer and host the expert in conducting practical training on mobile milking machines maintenance and repair.

Consultant Tasks: The Consultant is expected to complete the following tasks:

1. Sector Familiarization (Remote)

• Review background information on milking machines in Georgia and the reports prepared by a previous consultant on observed milking machine problems.
• Participate in online orientation meetings to better understand the market and the consultancy’s objectives.

2. Initial In-Country Technical Visit & Repairs

• Visit an envisioned 9 commercial dairy farm across Georgia to assess the operational status of their milking parlors.
• Identify malfunctions and, where possible, conduct immediate repairs.
• Provide training on diagnostics of the mobile milking machines malfunctions (pulsators, pressure) using specific equipment as well as simply methods and repairing malfunctions.
• Draft a report for the farmer on observations of their milking parlor, areas that need to be addressed including the replacement of consumables, and areas that need to be closely monitored for preventative maintenance. Establish key performance indicators that should be seen from servicing the milking parlor.

3. Spare Parts Assessment

• For visited milking parlors with issues that cannot be immediately fixed, provide a detailed list of required spare parts along with technical specifications and list of potential suppliers.
• Review current stock of spare parts and consumables kept by input suppliers and based on visited milking parlors and experience draft a list of essential spare parts and consumables that should be kept in stock and those that should be easily ordered with a list of potential vendors for both.

4. Follow-Up Technical Visit

• Revisit dairy farms to ensure prior servicing is functioning properly and provide necessary repairs and adjustments with ordered spare parts.
• Review progress against established key performance indicators.

5. Training & Knowledge Transfer

• Provide practical mentoring during farm visits to assigned technicians looking to improve their machine milking maintenance and servicing knowledge.
• Recommend key business development steps for establishing a machine milking service network with interested private sector input supplier.
• Prepare a preventative and on-going maintenance schedule for the milking machines including the replacement of consumables.
• Prepare materials for and deliver a half-day awareness raising workshop with commercial dairy farmers on the cost-benefit of proper machine milking maintenance including the replacement of consumables.

Deliverables: Under this scope of work, the consultant is expected to complete the following deliverables:

1. Provide maintenance and repair services to visited milking machines. Each visit shall be accompanied with a written technical report detailing the observed state of the milking machine, applied services, future servicing schedule, and key performance indicators. A detailed list of spare parts, their specifications, and potential suppliers should be included in the report.
2. Written assessment of the current situation regarding the availability of spare parts and recommendations for adjusting inventory with a list of potential vendors.
3. During the maintenance visits, provide on-job training to local technicians to improve their ability to maintain milking machines. Provide written recommendations to local input supplier on business development requirements for developing and scaling a machine milking service.
4. Develop a general milking machine maintenance schedule. Deliver a half-day workshop with commercial farmers on the benefits of milking machine maintenance and review key signs of wear and tear that should be proactively addressed.

Requested Skills and Qualifications: The ideal candidate will present the following skills and qualifications:

1. Prior experience advising on machine milking for a commercial dairy farm, ideally in emerging markets.
2. Prior experience in providing repair and full technical services to various models and manufactures of milking parlors.
3. Prior experience delivering training/technical assistance on machine milking is preferred.
4. Excellent English language skills (reading, writing, speaking) are required for the assignment.

Travel: Travel is required to complete this assignment. Candidates should be available to travel in Georgia during the Summer and Fall to complete the assignment. Travel and accommodation arrangements will be made by Land O’Lakes Venture37 in accordance with established USDA regulations.

Application Instructions: Interested and qualified applicants should submit the following documents no later than April 30, 2025 at the link below:

• CV that details their experience in relation to the scope of work and requested qualifications. Please list the manufactures and models of milking parlors serviced.
• Cover letter which includes their availability to travel to Georgia, proposed daily fee and any qualifications to demonstrate their suitability to complete the scope of work.

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