Montana farmer-stockman. [volume], June 01, 1953, Image 1

About Montana farmer-stockman. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1947-1993

Image provided by: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

                
June 1, 1953
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Assembly Line Methods Boost Montano's
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By BILL STELLMON, Roving Reporter
T HERE have been some changes in this
dairy business. You'll still find the man
who sits on a battered bucket with a pail be
tween his knees, hand-milking a small herd.
But you'll find many more who think in
terms of bacteria count and production-per
animal and haven't stripped a cow for years.
Dairy Herd Improvement associations,
artificial insemination, extension education
and the dairyman's economic necessity to
cut costs and labor requirements—these may
be some reasons for the changes. But the
reasons aren't as important as the results.
Look at production: Montana and Wyo
ming dairy farmers now are milking higher
producing animals than ever before. Dairy
stock numbers are on the increase after
several years of decline. Bureau of Agricul
tural Economics reports a steady increase in
the production of all dairy products during
the first quarter of 1953 over the same
period for 1952. Butter production for
March alone increased 15 per cent over that
of last year in Montana.
Look at marketing: For the most part, the
small producer-retailer has given way to
large wholesale-retail plants that process
his milk in a variety of ways and carton it
—again in several ways—as a more attrac
tive and better product for the housewife's
table.
Look at the dairyman himself; Now he has
barns and equipment that give milking a
production-line technique. It's a two to four
minute job per cow on a herd basis, arid
one man does it instead of two or three.
And in many cases the milker hardly sees
the milk—it goes direct from cow to delivery
can via pipeline.
No wonder long-time dairymen like Her
man Hepp, Cascade County, marvel at this
newfangled dairying . Sure, Herman has
milked cows since 1923 and he's seen these
changes in the making. But he can still
remember that just two or three years ago
he did more work milking 35 head in a
stanchion barn than he does now milking
65 head in an elevated milking parlor.
Herman, whose son Joe is entering the
business as a partner, milks 65 high grade
Holsteins in his four-stall milking parlor in
about two hours. He doesn't have much
time to chat with visitors when he's doing
it, of course, but everything goes like clock
work.
A Cow comes in, her udder is washed, the
machine goes on. Then Herman does the
same with three other cows. By that time,
she is dry so he takes off the machine, pulls
one rope to open the gate on her stall and
another to open the entrance door for an
other cow. The milked cow leaves as one
comes in to be milked. It's that fast, and
in ways as rhythmic as the movements of
an orchestra conductor. (Turn to page 21)
S MONTANA AND NORTHERN WYOMING
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1. Pari of the high grade Holstein herd in the lot at
the Herman Hepp & Son dairy farm. Cascade
County. Hepps keep 83 head in all, milk 65. 2. Hepp
cows in holding pen before milking. Here they are
fed as much wet brewer's malt as they'll clean up.
3. Herman Hepp puts one of four milking machine
units on a cow. Top pipe in picture is one which
takes milk directly from cow through aerator to
delivery cans. 4. Milk flows over aerator for cooling,
then into cans. Automatic floats allow four cans 1«
be filled at once. 5. Hepp switches cans.
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