H— 29a

The difficulty of T.B. elimination in town-milk-supply herds rests in the fact that replacement stock are reared only in a minority of oases, and in order to ensure a continuity of freedom from T.B. it would be essential to organize either the testing of the herds from which the replacement stock was being purchased, or the testing of the purchased stock before it goes on to the owner's farm. The former proposal is the more practical, and if it were possible for the Dairy Farmers' Milk Supply Association to organize the purchase of young stock from T.B. tested herds, then the Commission's wishes in this respect would be met. However, until the dairying industry as a whole adopts measures for the elimination of T. 8., any steps taken by the city milk industry can never be wholly effective. Consequently the Commission recommends that steps be taken to discuss these proposals with the representatives of the dairying industry and, failing a satisfactory national plan for T.B. elimination, that the Central Authority, whose creation is recommended by the Commission, take up the matter within the town-milk industry and at least organize the supply of raw milk from T.B. tested herds. (d) Shed Hygiene Milk-quality can never be better than when it leaves the farm, and consequently the standard of shed hygiene must be as high as possible. The city-milk producer should recognize his full responsibility to produce a high-standard article in return for a price compatible with that standard. The Commission visited a number of producers' milking-sheds, and the conditions in the different districts vary considerably. It is noticeable, for instance, in Dunedin, where low prices have prevailed for a considerable time and, indeed, where producers' prices are lower than in any other of the four main centres, that the general standard of shed conditions is not good. The producers' representative in Dunedin made out a strong case for the relationship between a low standard of shed conditions and a low price for the milk produced. The Commission is of opinion that this submission warrants serious consideration. In the Christchurch area conditions as a whole were good, due, to a considerable extent, to the initiative and activities of the Stock Inspector in that district. As indicated in another section of the report, the number of new milking-sheds erected in this area is a direct reflection of the work of this particular Stock Inspector. Nevertheless, the Commission visited several sheds in the Christchurch area which were definitely below standard. In the Wellington area the Commission had little opportunity, owing to lack of time, of visiting many sheds, but it is of opinion that considerable room for improvements exists in this district also. In Auckland the sheds visited appeared to be a good cross-section of sheds generally. Certainly there was considerable room for improvement in a number of them, and some economic pressure should be brought to bear to ensure that the producer of city milk will not be given the full price for a milk of high standard until his shed conditions are such as to ensure that a high standard milk is likely to be produced. (e) Adequate Cooling The prevailing practices for cooling the milk immediately after milking are discussed in Part I, but the Commission is of opinion that a greater control of the cooling of the milk is essential, and that steps should be taken to assist dairy-farmers who at the present time do not have proper cooling facilities. For the production of really high-standard milk some artificial cooling facilities are essential, and the Commission recommends that the Dairy Farmers' Milk Supply Association, in conjunction with the Central Authority, give consideration to organizing the supply of refrigerators to producers so that proper and adequate cooling of milk can be secured. It is equally necessary that after proper cooling has been secured the milk should be kept stored under refrigerated conditions until picked up by the collecting lorry. It is quoted elsewhere in this report that the collection, as far as possible, should be at the farm dairy and not at the farm-gate. This is a matter for the immediate consideration of the Dairy Farmers' Milk Supply Association, and as the cost of collection will be borne by such Association it is for this body to decide the best method of collection compatible with ensuring that the milk is retained at a sufficiently low temperature to restrict the growth of pathogenic organisms. Adequate Supplies One of the most disturbing features of the Commission's inquiry is the failure in each area to appreciate the importance of ensuring an adequate supply of milk. Under New Zealand conditions the average dairy-factory herd produces heavily in the spring and summer, falls away to only a very small supply in the late autumn, and in the winter ceases to supply except for what may be termed " accidental milk " from late-calving cows, cows which have failed to get in calf, and cows which have aborted. The seasonal nature of this supply is due to the general conditions of dairying in New Zealand where the cattle are grazed outdoors and where the main reliance for food-supply is placed essentially on grassland farming. In order to swing over to city-milk production considerable and fundamental changes must occur. The farmer must alter the calving of his cows in such a way as to ensure a sufficient number being in milk in the winter to give him the desired quantity. He must organize the growth of foodstuffs other than grass or arrange to purchase these so as to have adequate quantities of feed for winter production. The producers in each area have submitted that the cow calving in the early autumn particularly, and to some extent in the late autumn, falls heavily in total yield as compared with the spring-calving cow. This, as has been pointed out elsewhere, is mainly a matter of feed coupled with climatic conditions, but it is quite certain that considerable difficulties are encountered and problems created when the normal seasonal milker decides to change over to all-the-year-round town-milk production. The tendency, therefore, in the average town-milk-supply herd in New Zealand is for a greater disparity between the quantity of milk produced in the summer and the quantity produced in the winter than would be encountered in other countries. A typical picture of monthly production for a representative sample of herds in each supply area is shown in the table quoted below. It will be seen from this table that Christchurch comes closest to achieving a level supply and that in the Wellington and Auckland areas approximately twice as much is produced in the peak summer months as compared with the lowest winter month.

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