The Progress of the Town-milk Industry

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 81, Issue 4, 16 October 1950, Page 303

The Progress of the Town-milk Industry

IN no other foodstuff lies a greater potential for injury to public health than in milk, so that any improvements in the town-milk industry are indirectly improvements in the health of the people. This fact is confirmed by the degree to which most countries exercise supervision over the industry. In New Zealand the industry is rapidly realising the aims envisaged for it by the Milk Commission in 1943 and more clearly defined in the Milk Act of 1944. This article by T. P. J. Twomey, Superintendent of Market Milk, Department of Agriculture, Wellington, traces the progress of recent years.

THE town-milk industry is composed of three fairly clearly defined sections, production, treatment, and distribution, all of which seek to serve , the interests of the housewife. For any one section of the industry to progress independently of the others would be manifestly unbusinesslike, and one of the most pleasing features of progress to date in New Zealand is the way in which the industry as a whole has advanced, each section playing its full and expected part. Though the Milk Commission in 1943. was obliged to confine its investigations to the town-milk industry in the four major cities, anybody reading the commission’s report would soon draw the conclusion that conditions outside these four areas were no less open to criticism. Major Weaknesses Many factors had combined to bring .about the state of affairs which led to the sitting of the Milk Commission. One set of factors was primarily internal; that is, it affected the people in the industry; the other set was largely external in that it affected the consuming public rather than the industry itself. The principal internal weaknesses were lack of stability; undercutting Upper left photograph on opposite page by “Evening Post”; middle left by Jack Welsh and Sons; lower right by Sparrow Industrial Pictures Ltd. Photograph at left above by Jack Welsh and Sons.

and unfair competition; and lack of a clearly defined policy, for the future of the industry. The major external weaknesses affecting the customer were periodic shortages; varying quality; erratic treatment standards; and varying price. As the result of the Milk Commission’s findings a general reorganisation of the town-milk industry 'was planned. To bring this about the Milk Act of 1944 was passed and the Marketing Department (then the Milk Marketing Division) was charged with the duty of implementing the Government’s plans for agreeing on a guaranteed price with the farmer; arranging with the trade guaranteed margins for such services as milk collection, treatment, and delivery; and initiating improvements in existing milk-treating stations. The major improvements resulting from that planning are reviewed in this article. Production The problem of recurring shortages and flushes was attacked by ensuring a guaranteed price to the town-milk producer. As first negotiated .this price took into account the higher cost of non-seasonal production and was fixed at a figure suitably in excess of the guaranteed price payable to suppliers of milk and cream to dairy factories. This price was later negotiated on a different basis, but the intention to pay the town-milk producer a higher reward for his more onerous responsibility has been maintained.

In exchange for this guarantee of a satisfactory price, ’ town-milk producers were obliged to form themselves into local co-operative milksupply companies or associations. Each supply association undertook to guarantee a fixed quantity of milk daily to the consumers in its area. This quota is re-assessed yearly. The quota is guaranteed by the producers acting as a company or association, but individual producers agree on their own daily quotas with the supply company of which they are members. As town-milk producers know from experience the difficulties involved in guaranteeing a fixed daily quantity of milk, special provision is made for the payment of the guaranteed price for a certain surplus over the nominated quantity.. In general, the guaranteed price is . paid for the nominated quantity , plus 17 per cent, surplus in summer and plus 10 per cent, surplus in winter. The payment of a guaranteed price for a guaranteed quantity has largely removed the fear of winter shortages of town milk, and most supply companies now have waiting lists of dairy farmers anxious to produce milk for town supply. The guarantee of a minimum quota has had the added advantage to the consumer of tending to avoid the necessity for winter milk supplies being drawn from predominantly seasonal producers. . Treatment When the Milk Commission sat in 1943 the standard of many milk-treat-ment stations in New Zealand was . regrettably low, the position being • aggravated by wartime conditions. On ■ the other hand, a few stations were of ■ a high standard. and were being oper- ; ' ated with praiseworthy technical ■ competence; the municipally-owned ; Wellington depot was an example. The effecting of substantial im- • provement in the average milk-treat-l ment station presented many probi lems, not least being the very high i cost of milk plant and other equip- > ment in the immediate post-war years. This fact was recognised by many of

PROGRESS ■ : '/ ; txt tz 1 nmTJ a nrik/fTJxnr' _ MUJv IK&A1MBN1 , : FACILITIES ■’ •■-

the owners, and when the Milk Marketing Division was authorised to buy these stations and re-equip them under Government auspices they were readily offered for sale. Once the stations had been acquired by the Government steps were taken either to re-equip them or, in certain cases, to build new stations. Such action was fraught with political implications., ' and progress in this direction was not as rapid as could be desired. Nevertheless, substantial progress was made, particularly in areas where progress was essential to safeguard health. Parallel with Government action in this direction, several owners of milktreatment stations who did not wish to sell their depots extended and reequipped them as necessary. As a result of all this, milktreatment facilities of nearly all the stations in the country have now been brought up to a high standard. Several have been or - are being entirely rebuilt, and in other cases modern equipment has been installed. Full credit is due to those private owners who have undertaken this necessary but expensive action in an endeavour to fulfil their responsibilities as well as possible. The stations which came under Government ownership included some where only rebuilding or major alterations could be considered the proper action. As a result, new stations have been erected in Dunedin and Hastings, a new one is being built in Auckland, and major alterations have been effected in Palmerston North and Wanganui. Certain stations have been acquired by the Government and transferred to municipal or local public ownership, and major improvements have followed this change of ownership. The station in Whangarei is now municipally owned and that in Wanganui publicly owned; the largest station in Christchurch is semipublicly owned. Of the technical advances made in milk treatment during the past few years, the three most obvious have been improved pasteurisation techniques, aluminium capping of bottles, ana daily milk testing. Modern pasteurisers of the type recently installed in milk-treatment stations perform miracles of efficiency and hygiene, and they have left far behind them any suggestion that hit-or-miss methods would suffice in the important operation they perform. Aluminium capping—that is, . the use of a metal cap which fits right over the top of the milk bottle —has now been introduced in Whangarei, Auckland, Hamilton, Hastings, Palmerston North, the Hutt Valley, and Nelson. Regular milk testing, long considered the preserve of the large treatment station, has now been extended to all the stations in the country, and the benefits to producers and consumers have been gratifyingly evident. The remuneration which can be earned by a treatment station is small in relation to the capital investment. Whatever the rights and wrongs of public ownership, this fact must influence rebuilding and re-equipment. Undoubtedly the extent to which rebuilding and re-equipping have been carried out would not have been Lower right photograph on opposite page by R. W Orr.

achieved easily had some of the stations not come under public ownership.

Criticisms of the principle of improving milk-treatment facilities are sometimes aired by people who would be the first to express horror at any attempt to prevent improvements in town water supplies. Admittedly milk-treatment plant is expensive, but so is . the plant necessary to provide a safe reticulated water supply. Yet poor milk-treatment facilities can be as dangerous to the health of a people as a poor water supply. Any country that now wishes to call itself both civilised and progressive is committed to a policy of safeguarding its milk supply, and these safeguards must be applied not only at the point of production but at every stage through which the milk passes on its way to the consumer. Improving the health of the cow and guaranteeing the cash reward of the producer are not in themselves sufficient; treatment facilities must also be adequate even though these, too, are unavoidably expensive.

Distribution

Though less spectacular than that in the fields- of production and treatment, the progress made in the distribution of milk to the consumer has been steady. As with the guaranteed price to the producer, venders’ interests were safeguarded by the establishment of a guaranteed margin in exchange for their services as distributors. The margin established was 9Jd. a gallon and, judging by the waiting lists of people anxious to buy milk rounds, that margin has been highly successful in ensuring an adequate return to those in the distributive side of the industry.

One of the weaknesses of the old set-up was that the milk-delivery business was highly competitive. That was praiseworthy as long as the venders were selling different milks, but with the growth of milk-treatment stations a position developed in which venders, though operating competitively, were all selling an identical product. Competition under such conditions offered no benefit to consumers and served only to keep the cost of delivery unnecessarily high. It soon became obvious that the costs of distribution could be reduced only by obviating useless competition and, in line with wartime practice and the recommendations of the Milk Act zoning was either continued or extended on a wide scale. Systems of zoning varied between towns, but in general the practice was to limit the overlapping of milk deliveries by adopting the principle of one vender to one zone. The zoning of milk rounds ensured the cessation of expensive competition and guaranteed the vender’s livelihood to him. The interests of the consumer were safeguarded through the provisions of the Milk Act, which required that the operation of zoning be the responsibility of local milk authorities appointed under the Act. This meant that zoning followed the formation of these authorities (usually called milk boards or borough council milk committees) the members or secretaries of the authorities presenting a focal point to which complaints

of unsatisfactory milk deliveries could be directed. This system has worked well. Incidentally, though New Zealand consumers are accustomed to having their milk delivered to their homes, they would not find that the same necessarily applied if they lived in America or Europe, where a higher price is charged for home-delivered milk. Apart from zoning, the distributive side of the industry has progressed in two other waysthe provision of covers on venders’ vehicles and the introduction of electric delivery vans Sunlight and milk do not agree and the use of fixed covers on delivery vehicles is essential. Venders with an appreciation of the importance of the service they . give have readily accepted this principle and in several cities in New Zealandnotably Hamilton, Nelson, Timaru, and Dunedin — covered vans are now standard. Other areas are following this example. Electric vehicles are a fairly new departure for New Zealand’s milk venders. An electric truck is driven by a motor powered by a large storage battery instead of a petrol engine, and as they are silent in operation. and cannot be driven at an excessive speed they are well suited to earlymorning milk deliveries. Such vehicles, though dear in first cost, are remarkably cheap in operation. So far there are few on the road in this country, but judging by experience overseas they are likely to increase rapidly in popularity. Control The efficiency of control methods has increased in line with the progress made in the other phases of the townmilk industry. Control has always been exercised by the Departments of Health and Agriculture, but the Milk Act, by sponsoring the formation of milk boards or milk authorities, increased the opportunities for a more local interest in the operation of these control measures. The Milk Commission recommended the formation of a central guiding authority for the town-milk industry, and this authority subsequently came into being as the Central Milk Council. This council was expected to direct the progress of the industry and was given wide powers under the provisions of the Milk Act. The formation of such an authority was recommended by a royal commission set up to study the milk business in England 3 years ago. In practice, the Central Milk Council assists local milk boards in their work of control at local levels.

The Department of Agriculture, through its Livestock Division officers on the production side and through its Dairy Division officers on the treatment side, continues the functions of supervision and control on a national level. The degree of supervision being given to these two aspects of the industry has been reflected in a steady improvement in standards.

The Department of Health exercises supervision over all aspects of milk distribution, whether retail or through dairy shops, and officers of that Department work closely with officers of the Department of Agriculture in ensuring that supervision all through the industry is co-ordinated effectively

to the advantage of the consumer. Representatives of both Departments attend meetings of milk authorities and give expert technical advice. What Remains to be Done Progress in all phases of the townmilk industry in New Zealand has been rapid during the past few years and betokens a sound good will on the part of all those engaged in it. Nevertheless, complacency cannot yet be justified, as much remains to be done. Town milk is still bought on a gallonage basis and no extra reward is paid to the farmer who produces a higher-quality milk than does his neighbour. Payment for quality has still to come. Certain towns have milk-treatment stations which should be replaced by new ones. To name these towns (there are only three or four) would be invidious, but if the consumers in these areas could realise the costly difficulties under which these stations have to operate, they would soon request that remedial action be taken. The treatment of milk is too import-

ant to justify chances being taken with old buildings and out-of-date plant. f In New Zealand about 85 per cent, of all the town milk sold in ’ urban areas is pasteurised. 'This figure has been rising steadily and further progress can be expected. There is still a danger where dairy shops buy raw milk for use in milk shakes. This raises a problem for mothers who insist on their children having pasteurised milk at home (school milk, of course, is pasteurised). Such mothers should allow their children to patronise only dairy shops which handle pasteurised milk exclusively. All milk sold to shops and milk bars in the larger urban areas should be pasteurised. Too much “billy” milk is still sold. Hygiene demands that milk should be untouched by hand, and that demand can be met only by the sale of milk in sealed containers. Milk sold in bottles is now a high proportion of the whole, but the position will not be satisfactory until all milk sold to homes is delivered in bottles filled and sealed under laboratory control..

All vehicles used for the conveyance of town milk should have fixed covers to protect the milk from the effects of the sun. Good progress has been made, but many vehicles are still lacking in this respect.

Certain local milk authorities deserve congratulation for their part in ensuring fair play and proper supervision over all sections of the town-milk industry in their areas. Unfortunately, a few districts cannot boast that their milk authorities come within this category. A milk authority is not an imposition from above, but is a safeguard not only to the consumer but also to every section of the industry. Milk authorities are not something new and untried, for equivalent organisations have been operating in other countries for many years. The past is creditable and the future is bright. The industry is stable, there is no milk shortage, the standard of treatment has risen appreciably, and control and supervision are being carried out on properly co-ordinated lines on both local and national levels.