Disposable gloves for the milking parlor: There’s more to them than you think

A staple on dairy farms, disposable gloves are the first line of defense.

Courtesy of Manufacturer

At World Dairy Expo, there are all kinds of exhibitors. From massive high-tech displays to the simple table booth, each exhibitor is vying for your attention. Sure, it’s great to see the latest innovation or newest machinery. There are also those exhibitors who draw attention to products used every day that might be so ubiquitous on the farm that they might not garner a second look.

But it’s these exhibitors where you just might learn something about a product you use every day and gain an increased appreciation of the product and the role it plays on your farm.

Matt Fox has been exhibiting at World Dairy Expo for 13 years. His product: disposable gloves. Yes, those disposable gloves that are used on dairy farms by the thousands. Fox works for Summit Glove, an Ohio-based company that makes nitrile gloves used in the milking parlor.

At his booth, he lets customers try various sizes to get that “perfect fit” and offers small sample packages of the milking gloves.

While promoting the Milker’s Helpers brand blue nitrile glove is Fox’s priority, he’s also an educator. “We make our gloves to last an entire milking session, but we really want producers to change their gloves more often,” he said. “The reason is not to sell more gloves. For the health of the animal and the worker, we should be changing out our gloves more often.”

There are a lot of choices when it comes to disposable gloves, but Fox said the gloves you may think as saving money end up costing more in the long run. “With a cheaper glove, you end up throwing more gloves away because they break,” he said. “And the glove is protecting hands from all the pre-dips and post-dips that are used on every cow, so you are buying a better safety shield. An inexpensive glove is not always liquid-proof.”

Fox said when looking at disposable gloves they should ensure they are 100 percent nitrile, because that is the most liquid-proof glove you can purchase.

“It’s not like you are buying a pair of jeans. You are buying something that protects the health of your workers and the animal, so it pays not to skimp,” Fox said. “Our company does a lot of work with first responders, and we provide a specially designed glove that is thicker. It’s a premium product. They wouldn’t want to skimp on their bullet-proof vests. These gloves are like the bullet-proof best for pathogens.”

Technology is also changing in what could be considered a commodity. “We have models that have wear indicators. And we’ve worked to make the fingertips a little bit tighter so there is more dexterity and it doesn’t fit as loose. We’ve also worked on the texture of the glove so water wicks away,” Fox said.

Many of the less-expensive gloves on the market are made with fillers. These fillers create tiny, microscopic holes that make them permeable to liquids. Because nitrile is a petroleum-based product, is liquid proof. “You may be kidding yourself when you say you are saving by buying a cheaper glove,” Fox said. “They don’t last, they easily break and you may end up wasting 20 percent of the box. Buy a better glove.”