﻿4 BULLETIN" 1, IT. S. DEPAKTMENT OF AGKICULTUKE. 



the milk; provides for inspection of premises, examination of cows, 

 and collection and analysis of milk samples ; and includes provisions 

 under which the contract may be terminated by either party entering 

 into it. 



Many commissions prefer not to have any contract with their 

 producers and claim that it is superfluous and unnecessary. The 

 producers understand well that if their milk does not come up to 

 the requirements they can not sell it. However, in cases where there 

 are contracts, commissions are not at all hasty in severing relations 

 with a producer when his milk falls below requirements, but make 

 more frequent inspections and lend every effort at such inspections to 

 help the dairyman out of his trouble. In this way when a producer 

 does have trouble he often writes to know when the commission can 

 send a representative to help him out of his difficulty. The efforts 

 of such commissions are therefore to help and cooperate closely with 

 the producer. Some commissions feel safer in the work without a 

 lengthy binding contract. This plan allows a certain latitude for 

 meeting conditions as they arise, and the latter vary greatly at dif- 

 ferent farms, even though the dairymen all produce milk well within 

 the requirements and standards. 



REQUIREMENTS AND STANDARDS. 



There has been in the past considerable diversity as to the require- 

 ments of the various commissions concerning the production of certi- 

 fied milk. In the spring of 1912 a report was received from 58 milk 

 commissions as to the standards which they had set for both chemical 

 composition and bacterial content. 



The requirements for fat range from 3.5 up to 5 per cent, while 

 the standards for total solids range from 12 to 14 per cent. By far 

 the greatest number of commissions required that the bacterial count 

 be kept below 10,000 per cubic centimeter, one of the commissions 

 requiring a count under 5,000 in the wintertime. One commission 

 allowed 15,000, one 20,000, and three 30,000 bacteria per cubic centi- 

 meter. It has been generally recognized, however, by those connected 

 with certified-milk work that a standard of 10,000 bacteria per cubic 

 centimeter is that which is usually associated with certified milk. 



In order to make the requirements more specific and to unify the 

 work of the various milk commissions, the American Association of 

 Medical Milk Commissions appointed a committee to draw up tenta- 

 tive standards which should be adopted by the association for the 

 production and distribution of certified milk. The report of this 

 committee was read and accepted at the meeting of the association 

 held in Louisville, Ky., May 1, 1912, and the provisions of this report 

 are looked upon as standard regulations for this product. These 

 rules are reprinted in the appendix of this bulletin. 



