Story: Dairying and dairy products

Testing milk for butterfat content (1st of 2)

Testing milk for butterfat content

Herd testers collected a sample of milk from each cow at both the morning and afternoon milking, and tested it to determine the fat content. They used the Babcock test, which involved adding sulfuric acid to the milk and spinning it in a centrifuge to separate the fat. Here, a tester is reading the fat content in a sample while a shed hand records the details.

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How to cite this page:

Hugh Stringleman and Frank Scrimgeour, 'Dairying and dairy products - Breed improvement', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/20607/testing-milk-for-butterfat-content (accessed 20 April 2024)

Story by Hugh Stringleman and Frank Scrimgeour, published 24 Nov 2008