task of carrying milk accounted for 

 about 30 minutes each milking or 

 about one hour a day. 



Obsei'vations in a few cases where 

 the operators strained milk in the 

 stable indicated an advantage in ease 

 and time of milking. The operator 

 could dispose of milk in 0.2 of a min- 

 ute instead of 1.0 minute and get 

 back to the cows quickly. But the 

 health regulations of most markets 

 prohibit the straining of milk in the 

 stable. The objective of the regula- 

 tion is to hold the absorbtion of stable 

 air and odors by the milk to a mini- 

 mum. If the shipping cans are ster- 

 ile and tightly covered when leaving 

 the milk house and if the strainers 

 are covered, the milk would have a 

 minimum contact with stable air and 

 would be protected from dust and 

 flies. The relaxation of the regula- 

 tion to those who carried out special 

 practices would save time and travel. 



A simple device to indicate when 

 the shipping cans are full would 

 make it unnecessary to lift the strain- 

 er until ready to put the can cover 

 on. In fact, a means of indicating 

 by weight would enable the operator 

 to know when he had enough milk in 

 the strainer to fill the can. If the 



shipping can filled with milk plus the 

 strainer weighs 100 pounds, the work- 

 er could pour into the strainer until 

 the 100 pounds were registered. A 

 simple device could be made to indi- 

 cate a definite weight. 



The shipping cans filled with milk 

 can be transported to the milk room 

 by a special two-wheeled hand ti-uck. 

 Either one or two cans could be trans- 

 ported in one trip. 



On large farms in California, sani- 

 tary steel vacuum pipes are installed 

 on each row of 28 stanchions in the 

 milking shed and they convey the milk 

 direct from teat cups to the milk room. 

 With the use of hot water and special 

 detergents the equipment is kept sani- 

 tary without dismantling. Due to the 

 expense of installation and mainte- 

 nance this equipment probably is not 

 practical in a conventional type dairy 

 barn. On the other hand engineers 

 can make a real contribution to the 

 dairy industry by developing a prac- 

 tical way of conveying milk from the 

 cows to the milk house. Perhaps some 

 of the special equipment now in use in 

 milking parlors and western milking 

 sheds can be redesigned for use in 

 stanchion barns. 



Summary 



1. Greater chore efficiency is 

 needed on specialized dairy farms to 

 balance the improved technology of 

 field work. 



2. Adjustments that enable the 

 operator to prepare certain chore 

 tasks in advance of the usual period 

 give flexibility to labor requirements 

 and can result in greater efficiency 

 of labor. 



3. Each task performed should be 

 reexamined and reappraised as to its 

 need and how best to do it. 



4. The grouping of chore activi- 

 ties around work centers and arrange- 



ments to do individual chores by cir- 

 cular travel simplifies the total work 

 load. 



5. Milking takes more than one- 

 half the total chore man hours on 

 most farms and must be done at defi- 

 nite periods twice daily. Concentra- 

 tion of the operator on improved 

 methods can eventually reduce this 

 chore to less than six man minutes 

 daily per cow milked. 



6. High efficiency in feeding re- 

 quires a good layout so that feed can 

 be moved from storage easily and 

 quickly. Greater use of mechanical 



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