2 BULLETIN 849, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
a great extent upon market milk.. The supply must be brought some- 
times from a distance of 300 or 400 miles, pasteurized, bottled, and 
delivered to the consumer generally each morning before breakfast. 
Furthermore, the milk must be handled under rigid sanitary condi- 
tions. For this business the modern city milk plant has been devel- 
oped. These plants are constantly being remodeled, and new ones 
are being built to meet the latest advances in sanitation. 
The purpose of this bulletin is to furnish specific information on 
the construction and arrangement of modern milk plants as an aid 
to those who wish to build new plants or remodel old ones. The 
information presented is based upon data obtained from surveys made 
of many of the principal plants in the larger cities of the United 
States. 
PRIMARY CONSIDERATIONS IN ESTABLISHING A PLANT. 
While starting a milk plant which insures a safe and adequate 
milk supply for a community is a laudable enterprise, it must be 
remembered that such ventures are not always successful. Many 
milk plants have failed, not because of faulty management or 
changed conditions, but because the milk plant should not have been 
established in the first place. Before the prospective operator 
engages in the milk business the following questions should be 
answered to his satisfaction. 
1. Is the person who is to manage the plant familiar with the milk 
business? Unless a capable manager can be obtained the chances of 
success will be greatly lessened, as the success of a milk business 
depends primarily upon the manager. Besides being a good business 
man, the manager must be acquainted with the details of handling 
milk and of milk-plant operation. A man may have the proper 
character, personality, and business ability to manage some other 
kind of business and yet make a failure of the management of a milk 
plant, because he lacks the technical knowledge required. 
2. Is there capital enough available to equip and operate a modern 
sanitary plant until it reaches a paying basis? 
3. Is there a sufficient supply of milk of proper quality available 
or can enough be made available to operate the plant successfully ? 
4. Is there a steady demand for milk in the locality under con- 
sideration and is this demand being met by dealers already in the 
ee 
. What type of competition will be met with? 
i What is the attitude of the local health department ? A capable 
health department can be of great help to a plant that 1s putting out 
a high-grade product. 
ie “What 3 is the local labor situation ? 
