LABOUR-SAVING SCHEMES

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 78, Issue 7017, 9 February 1949, Page 3

LABOUR-SAVING SCHEMES

FOR USE OF AMERICAN DAIRYMEN EASIER PRODUCTION OF QUALITY MILK America, with its craze for factfinding and figures, has recently proved to its satisfaction that modern labour-saving techniques can be used by dairymen to make production of quality milk much easier. This is according to Mr H. J. Weavers, chief of the dairy division, Wisconsin State Depalrtment of (Agriculture. Chores and barnyard routine consume about 75% of the work week on the average dairy farm, he pointed out. The average dairy fanner' puts in about 65 hours of work each week, says Weavers, but many New Zealand dairymen will refute that; but Weavers claims that this could be reduced by making- labour-saving improvements on the fann. He suggests four steps: Re-arrangement of the milking sheds; improved work routine; installing new equipment; and a more convenient location of supplies used daily. Weavers quoted studies which show that farmers who used this plan were able to reduce the time needed for chores two hours per day. They also cut down on the amount of travel for the day’s chores to two miles a day. Over a year that amounts to a saving of 60 12-hour days and 730 miles of travel. This is a saving in time and labour which would do much to ease up the dairy farmer’s work. But the plan has still another bigadvantage, Weavers said. Careful planning and better equipment will take much of the “guess” out of milk production and make the production of high quality milk easier and more certain.