Mobile Milk Processing Plant

Mobile Milk Processing Plant SPECIALTY/SERVICES Specialty/Services 4-4-32 "Here's an opportunity for dairy farmers to eliminate the middleman and receive $20 or more per hundredweight for milk produced on their farm," says the manufacturer of the new mobile Canfield Unitized Milk Processing System. Packaged inside a 40 x 8 ft. trailer unit, it takes in raw milk at one end and delivers pasteurized, homogenized, packaged milk out the other end at the rate of 500 gal. an hour. The processing plant has its own power plant, which is an 80 hp engine to supply all the heating, cooling and mechanical operation. The plant can also be hooked up to a farmer's own source of power and heat. All that's needed is an approved water source and a drain for waste water. The processing plant also comes in a portable model 50 ft. long and 10,12 or 14 ft. wide to be placed on a concrete slab. "This system was field tested on dairy farms in Pennsylvania for seven years and is the answer to on-farm milk processing any place in the world," says Richard Canfield, inventor and developer of the mobile unit. It's marketed through Dutch Dairy Manufacturing Company, Manheim, Penn. All the equipment is built to 3A standards of the dairy processing industry and includes a clean-in-place washing and sanitizing system. The mobile units have been approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, which has some of the highest standards in the United States. "On-farm milk processing is both feasible and profitable," says Canfield. "A recent USDA study showed that a farmer with a 200-cow herd can increase his net profits $23,000 by processing his own milk and wholesaling to retailers. Even greater profits can be made by selling at retail direct to customers." Canfield adds that the unit is not just for the large dairy farm, but can profit farmers with 40-cow herds when several of them use a mobile unit moved from farm to farm. Better quality is also possible with the portable unit. Canfield feels that some stores have a long delay in delivery of milk from the farm to the store, and that lighting and refrigeration in the store can contribute to off-flavors and loss of nutrients. The Canfield processor will package milk in bags, cardboard cartons or plastic jugs. It can also be used for processing flavored milk and fruit juices. The portable plant occupies 400 square feet, only one-fourth the space of a conventional plant. The units are priced from $68,000 to $135,000, depending on size and options. For more information, contact; FARM SHOW Followup, Dutch Dairy Manufacturing Co., Route 1, Manheim, Penn. 17545 (ph 717 665 6333).

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