‘Rushed’ Milking Condemned

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30829, 14 August 1965, Page 15

‘Rushed’ Milking Condemned

(Special Crspdt. N.Z.P.A.) LONDON, Aug. 13. The “mad rush” at milking has been described and condemned by a noted Essex breeder of heavy yielding Ayrshire cattle—and of Britain’s first 2000gallon heifer. Mr W. Watson-Steele, speaking at a dairy promotion field day, said: “To read of one man milking 100 cows and putting them through a parlour (milking shed) in record time fills me with horror.” It seemed to him that the i“rat race” was on to see how many cows could be pushed

through in the hour, irrespective of yield. Mr Watson-Steele insisted that the richest milk was in the last drops of each milking, and could not be got by the machine. To allow a time lag to occur between the main flow through the machine and stripping by hand was very bad milking. “Good stockmanship,” he said, “must not be allowed to die.” ~ Certainly the maxim should always be to milk the cow as quick as possible so long as she was milked clean, thus extending the period of lactation. He mentioned how he and his wife generally did the milking on their farm and that meant an “unpalatably long working day”—from 4.30 a m. to 7 p.m.