MILK AND CREAM FOR FACTORY SUPPLY

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 9, Issue 521, 9 April 1920, Page 2

MILK AND CREAM FOR FACTORY SUPPLY

THE PRODUCTION OF SOUND RAW MATERIAL.

(G. At. Valentine, Dairy Instructor Auckland- ■ Journal of Agriculture).

Practically speaking, the value of dairy produce, especially butter, is d. termined by its flavour and keep:n? q. ality, and both these points arc alii. ist entirely dependent on the slate of the raw material when delivered to the facto 17. It has been shown by experiment tii.it milk drawn from a healthy cow, in perfectly clean surroundings, will koep for an indefinite period without material change if sealed up in a sterile vessel. While such conditions are not to be found on the average farm, the nearer they cin !<:• approached the better will be the condition of the milk produced. The most likely sources of contamination ar>' dirty utensils, hands, or udders, and an impure atmosphere resulting from dirty sheds and dairies. Fully !)'i per tent, of the defects in milk ;u,d cream are due to these causes, and net? led of cooling. In thi 1 production of high-qu'ility 01 ilk and cream four things are nen- sary- namely, a good set of brashes, plenty of boiling water, .1 !o>.)d cooler, and lastly, the incl'nr.1 lo use them. I'mler present-day dairying conditions, where milking machines and separators are in everyday use, quke number of brushes are required if all the various parts connected with these machines are to be kept thor--1 I'L'hly clean. Without them it is impossible to fret into the numerous corners where stale milk collects, with the result that each milking is inoculated by the germs which have developed since the previous one. Direct contact with dirty utensils is without doubt the most frequent cause of bad milk and cream.

The boiling point of water at sealevel is 212 deg. F., and no othertemperature will do the same work. Hot water may be any temperature from just above blood heat, which :s quite suitable for washing utensils, but for scalding no temperature lower than boiling point will give the same results.

The temperature at which milk is diawn from the cow is ideal for the de.-e'lopment of the germs with which the atmosphere of even the cleanest shed is laden. By cooling the milk the growth of these germs is checked, and the development of bad flavours, which are the result of their action, is prevented. Of the four requirements mentioned the last is the most important, as shown by the fact that where conditions are not of the best a liberal use of the first three may result in a class of milk being produced. The labour entailed under such conditions is very much greater thnn where proper conveniences are provided, and as labour accounts for from one-third to one-half of the total .cost of producing butter-fat this as- • pect of the question cannot be ignored.

The Milking Shed.

j'he advent of the milking machine resulted in a complete change in the construction of sheds, as the new bVftem called for much more rapid handling of the cows. As the irst machines installed were bucket }>h nts, milking two cows at once, tne double bail was required, which was n followed by the run-through shed, experience having shown that there was too much interference with the buckets when the cows had t.u back'out of the bails. Practically speaking, there are only two styles of sheds being built to-day—-t 1.0 race shed and the run-through or half-race shed. The race shed: In many districts the race shed has been almost generally adopted, one claim being that, it i.s cheaper to build, and another that jo ling heifers can be better handled than in a run-thiough shed. Provided the race shed is properly built, it is doubtful whether the nrst claim cur. be sustained. The floor spacn in an eight-cow shed of this pattern is long by 15ft wide, including the gutters at each side. The floor space for a run-through shed to hold the same number of cows is 29ft Sin by I.m'i practically the same. Very often the gutters are left out altoge.her in, building the race shed, and the ntVnure is shovelled out under the wall plate on each side and lei't there indefinitely. The air coming into the shed passes over th'S tie?.p, with the result that the whole atmosphere is impure. Even when pr per gutters are provided it is the e\a eption rather than the rule to find them kept as they should be Taken as a whole, the race shed is m re difficult to clean than the run through, and for that reason the surrounding atmosphere is not as a rule .so pure. If the lee side of the shed is built of rails instead of being close-boarded the result is r.iuch mc;e satisfactory. dairymen who have had experience of both sheds claim that the lace type is slower, as a hard cow in front will hold up the other three. The number of sheds which have been converted from race to run-through recently seems to bear out this claim 'I he run-through shed: For a clean sanitary milking shed which is easily kept in order and gives quick despatch in the handling of the held the open-fronted )un-through plan can be confidently recommended for cither hand or machine milking. The plan shown on pages 148-9 makes provision for all the requirements which experience has shown to be no essary for the production of a iir.-t-tlass article, whether the milk is to be separated on the farm or delivered direct to the factory. Ihe bailding is comparatively cheap, and any make of milking machine can be ir>.-.tailed satisfactorily. The cows to straight through, which ; educes the v,v ir on the floor, and if the doors a>" kept open between l.iilkings a pure, sweet atmosphere is easily Maintained. Every dairyman may not !>■ in a position to carry out the w hole plan as shown, but if the right I'nr-s are followed it may bt possible ic complete it at a later date. Jit, Drainage, and Water Supply. The ideal site for a milking shed is not available on every d dry farm,

;•; several points have to be met in ip iking the selection. The mettled •i:'ten followed of erecting the shed : an addition to an existing buikiin:: is a bad one, as some essentia! f-ituiv has usuallv to be sacrificed. S' all feeding is not praeiised ever

g;eater part of New Zealand, and I ■ nseuiien! ly the close gri uping of ! ,rm buildings is not necessary, 'ilie in-laden atmosphei'e of the old- : ;\ le farmyard can be av tided, a;.d , •:e shed built in such pos'tion '! ;.t the milk is produced under the 1 .-st possible i onditions.

\\"h> 11 the shed is buil; close to tlu> iest of the farm buildings it very < .'ten happens that the fowls, pigs,

: nd other farm animals make free i-.e of it between milkings. In this connection it is well to note that 1 lie Dairy Industry Act requires that i"'ls shall not be kept within 3'Jyds oi a dairy, while no fowlhouse, maheap, re-spit. or closet shall be I:;■ 111 witbiii - oft. The word "dairy" 'liehides the shed and ya"d, On the finer hand, it is a mistake to bui'd liie shed so far from the dwelling lhat proper ati'Milion cannot be paid to the si i. ling of ii' ilk and i'!'.-.iii between milkings.