Winner of dairy hygiene competition

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32774, 26 November 1971, Page 13

Winner of dairy hygiene competition

The 1970-71 winner of the dairy hygiene competition held in the area of the Canterbury council of the New Zealand Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs is Kevin Bennett, aged 20, who works on his father’s 108-acre property at Ohoka, about four to five miles from Rangiora. He is a member of the Ohoka and districts Young Farmers’ Club, of which he is at present vice-president.

This competition, held in conjunction with the dairy division of the Department of Agriculture, is one with a very well worthwhile purpose—the raising of hygiene standards of milking sheds and dairies to the highest possible levels. To win this competition is no mean feat—it requires the maintenance of a consistently high standard

through the main milk production season. Farm dairy instructors or inspectors of the Department of Agriculture do the judging. Early in October, in the course of an advisory visit, they call on the entrants and acquaint them with the requirements of the competition—what is required of them and what

sort of things will lose them marks. Thereafter once a month for four months the instructors call on the entrants at times not known in advance to them. The instructors carry with them comprehensive sheets on which to assess the performance of the competitors. A series of deductions are made for shortcomings in standards. For instance, from two to four points may be lost for slime in the main milk line, one to three for signs of milkstone in the pipe, and so on. And on still another visit—the sixth altogether —a senior officer of the department accompanies the farm dairy instructor just to see that his assessments are on the right lines. The Canterbury council area includes the whole of the South Island north of the Waitaki and takes in as well as Canterbury, the West Coast, Marlborough and Nelson. There are some

10 farm dairy instructors in the area and this last year’s competition attracted a field of 27, and out of these Mr Bennett ran out the winner narrowly from Mr S. R. Pickering, of Ladbrooks.

Mr Bennett’s success is well deserved. In the 196970 season he was runnerup. His father, Mr E. A. Bennett, has been farming at Ohoka for 21 years. In 1966 with the herd at about 45 head he was in the position that he could not handle a greater number through the shed and in these circumstances, with some outside help, he converted the old shed into an eight-a-side herringbone shed sufficient to handle more than 70 head per hour. Immediately afterwards the herd was increased to 64 and is now about the 70 mark. Originally a Jersey one, it is now Jersey-Friesian cross. Kevin, who had three years at the Rangiora High School, does the milking, which now takes an hour whereas in the old shed the handling of the 45 took an hour and a half.

A feature of the milking shed is a large circular yard with mechanical backing gate. Concrete has been used liberally underfoot and one of the features of the arrangements that were favourably mentioned this week by Mr W. A. Small, a farm dairy instructor at Rangiora in whose district the farm is situated, was that the concrete was always washed down before the cattle came in for milking so that it was easier to clean afterwards, there was no dust problem and in hot weather he said that this also helped to keep down flies, which was a contribution to hygiene. Good drainage arrangements are also an important aspect of the milking shed. While liquid manure drains off to a 4000 gallon capacity sump, fenced off as a safety measure, storm water from the yard is bypassed into a nearby ditch. This means that the sump has to be emptied less frequently. There is also a trap in the drain to the sump to catch shingle that the cows bring in on their feet. The

sump is pumped out about every 10 days into a 500gallon tanker unit that is used to return manure and urine to;the pastures on the farm.

The availability of warm water by medium of hoses in the bails for washing down udders is another feature; of the shed that appeals to Mr Small. There are three such hoses which are finger tip controlled. This is a considerable advance on. the bucket and cloth and as well as acting as a means of pre-milking stimulation must,, he believes, also be a factor in keeping mastitis down to a lbw level and thereby avoiding- loss of production. He commented, too, on the way that the plugs had been removed from the milk and air line and the way that the machines were detached from the dropper pipes and hung up to drain and dry in the air.

In the dairy he noted with pleasure that the releaser had been dismantled and that instead of utensils being placed on a

wooden bench there was a wire mesh support or bench for them. A good point, too, was that the separator was supported by a porcelain pipe and the control vat was also on a pipe stand. There was also a cooler for direct cooling of cream coming off the separator. While water for washing down the shed is drawn from a creek, water for other purposes in the dairy comes from a well.

And to set off the shed, and dairy, some marigolds have been planted at the main entrance.

What did he particularly like about the shed? Mr Small said: "The simplicity and the efficiency of it.”

Mr Small added too that Kevin had shown a willingness to listen to him and to put into effect what he told him and expected him to do. By winning the competition Kevin takes a cup donated by the South Island Dairy Association.

The Bennetts are on butterfat supply and Mr Bennett senior is a director of Tai Tapu Central Cooperative Dairy Company, Ltd.

They have a total of about 110 cattle, including 20 calves which they rear for herd replacements. They also have a pig enterprise with about 42 or 43 sows and a total of about 400 head. They produce both pork and bacon, but mainly pork.

The property is selfsufficient in hay supplies with about 4000 bales being made.