THE MAN ON THE LAND.

Franklin Times, Volume 9, Issue 742, 27 June 1922, Page 2

THE MAN ON THE LAND.

STRICT CLEANLINESS IN DAIRY WORK. TESTIMONY TO NEW ZEALAND. Mr F. G. E. Board writes to the Mai!*” Cardiff, relating some of his experiences in New Zealand, and in ithe coarse of his communication says : I think I am safe in stating that for its size New Zealand is the first dairying country in the world, not excepting Denmark. She has attained that enviable position by strict attention to the study of hygiene, and by up-to-date methods both in milking and the transportation of milk to the consumer. From the time the cows are assemblted for milking .to the time that the consumer receives the milk at his door cleanliness plays the biggest part of the process. Every fanner, whether he milks for town supply, butter, cheese, or milk powder factory, is under the control of the fol lowing authorities :

T, In Ithe case of town supply he is under the control of the corporation, who have built a large clearingdepot, where the supplier's stock-in-trade is thoroughly examined—horse, cart, cans, and milk. The discovery of the minutest sign of dirt is very strongly dealt with, and in bad cases reported to the corporation the supplier’s license is cancelled. 2. In the case of butter factories, etc., every dairy factory company, be it controlled by co-operative system or privately, employs i'ts own staff of inspectors, whose sole duty it is to visit aand examine every supplier’s shed. He does not let the farmer know when he is coming. If the shed is not as it should be, it is a poor look cut for the supplier. For the first offence he is heavily fined, but if it occurs a second time his shed is condemned, and he is debarred from supplying the factory with milk until such time as the authorities think fit. One does not see the milker washing his fingers in the milk . before commencing a fresh cow, as-ono sees in some places. The first thing .that is clone when the cows enter the shed is to have their bags or udders washed thoroughly with warm water and a soft cloth, which induces them to release the milk directly the milkingmachine cups are attached .to the teats.

One of the farmers at a recent conference gave it as his opinion that it would cost too much to be clean, but I have never .heard of clean water being- expensive. Another remark passed by a farmer was something about eating off the floors ; he also alluded to the sheds as “marble halite., 7 ’ Now, if this gentleman were to visit some of the sheds in New Zealand, where any number up to 150 cows are milked, night and morning, he would find that the concrete floors would be quite clean enough to eat his dinner off, and the whole shed and its surroundings would be devoid of dirt. One does not see a manure heap- within twenty chains of the shed, and this, of course, minimises the presence of flies.