Evening star., 1950-07-09

farmer cooperative, is opposed to
chemical sterilization, while the
chemical method is favored by a
number of Washington independ-
ent dairies.
Dairy specialists agree that no
system of barns, no matter how
expensive or elaborate, will pro-
duce quality milk alone. The
operator is all important. How
ever, many who have tried the
parlor- tramp shed method believe
cleaner milk can be produced
under this arrangement. This
contention is supported by expert
mentS at various experimental
stations.
Dairy specialists at the Virginia
Polytechnic Institute announced
recently that tests there indicated
that the cleanest milk was pro-
duced in milking parlor using
combine mixer. A combine
mixer draws the milk from the
COW, and passes it through stain
less steel pipes directly to cans
or the cooler in the milkhouse.
Howard County Has Is.
In neighboring Howard County.
Md, where milk is shipped mostly
to the Baltimore market, 13 milk
ing parlors are now in operation.
According to County Agent War
rem G. Myers all dairymen using
parlors are highly pleased.
For example, at Doughoregan
Manor. the historic Carroll estate,
a milk parlor- tramp shed was
established year ago. Farm
Manager William R. Powell is so
pleased with the new arrange
ment, according to Mr.. Myers,
that he is considering converting
a 100-cow stanchion barn, also
on the farm, to a parlor- tramp
shed.
At Hayland Farm the 500-acre
estate of Wilson B. McCandless.
New York executive, Manager
Frank Getty reported that the
bacteria count had remained ex-
tremely low-less than 1000 per
cubic centimeter of milk. Mr..
Myers said other milking parlor
dairymen also reported low bac-
terra counts, and all reported
better cow health.
Those opposed to the milking
parlor arrangement say cows are
harder to keep clean when they
are kept in a shed where the
manure is allowed to accumulate.
They say they do not want milk
produced from cows kept on a
compost heap" They also point
out that a tramp shed requires
more bedding than a regulation
barn, and this is an area where
many farms produce less straw for
bedding than is necessary.
This means, they say, that cows
will not be properly bedded and
the tramp shed will be less cared
for than the stanchion barn that
must be cleaned daily.
Absorbent Surface Provided.
Replying to this argument,
dairymen who have tried the
tramp-shed arrangement claim
that cows actually stay cleaner
during the winter than in the
Stanchion barn. AS manure ac-
cumulates in the shed, additional
straw is added daily, producing
soft, absorbent surface for the
animals. They report less mastitis,
an udder disease of economic i'm
portance to dairymen, among
cows stabbed in loose sheds.
While more bedding is required
in the tramp sheds, dairymen
point out that the resulting
manure is more valuable, being
several times richer in plant food
than otherwise. Grass that is un-
suitable for making hay, they say.
can be clipped and stored for use
as bedding.
The cost of building a parlor-
tramp shed may be considerably
lower than the cost of building a
conventional barn. On many
farms existing buildings can be
converted. One national agri-
cultural service reported some
time ago that under average con-
ditions a 30-cow tramp shed of
pole construction and a milking
parlor could be constructed for
about $1,000. Engineers estimate
that conventional barn will cost
from $3.50 to $500 per STAN
chion-J. B.