Thursday, 01 November 2018 11:55

What if things go wrong?

Written by 
Milk not cooled as the rules require must be withheld from supply. Milk not cooled as the rules require must be withheld from supply.

MPI says a farm dairy must act to correct milk cooling performance if data show the milk is not being cooled within the required parameters. 

In such cases the milk cooling performance checks must be repeated to confirm compliance with the milk cooling requirements. 

Milk not cooled as the rules require must be withheld from supply, unless it has been assessed and confirmed as fit for intended purpose by the RMP (risk management) operator or dairy company via measures such as sensory evaluation, microbiological testing, titratable acidity or a validated risk assessment model. 

Note that a farmer thinking about upgrading equipment to deal with repeat failures to cool milk as required should consult a farm dairy assessor or dairy company before going ahead on the upgrade. 

Where an electronic monitoring system is installed, that system must be capable of holding data about the delivery line and bulk milk tank temperature for at least 30 days (this applies to milk and CIP solutions). 

Disposal of milk

A procedure must be in place for the disposal of milk. 

For a variety of reasons RMP operators may not always be able to collect milk. Milk may also be rejected by the RMP operator for any of the reasons specified in the regulations.

Farmers can face prosecution, under the Resource Management Act 1991, if they discharge milk directly into water or if they allow milk to flow into water. 

Milk is a potent pollutant -- 1000 times more potent than farm dairy effluent. So its intrusion into waterways will have a serious impact.

Contact the RMP operator if a major disruption occurs, as they will have contingency plans. Possible methods for disposing of milk onfarm are: discharge into effluent ponds, waste ponds, or trenches; spray irrigation; discharge to a sacrifice area; and feeding it to livestock. 

Farmers should check with their regional authority before disposing of milk onto land.

More like this

Editorial: Agri's mojo is back

OPINION: Good times are coming back for the primary industries. From sentiment expressed at Fieldays to the latest rural confidence survey results, all indicate farmer confidence at a near-record high.

MPI: Primary sector exports hit record $60B

A blockbuster year and an exciting performance: that's how Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Director General, Ray Smith is describing the massive upsurge in the fortunes of the primary sector exports for the year ended June 2025.

Controls lifted at poultry farm

Movement controls have been lifted from Mainland Poultry’s Hillgrove Farm in Otago, after the successful eradication of H7N6 strain of high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

Featured

National

Machinery & Products

Farming smarter with technology

The National Fieldays is an annual fixture in the farming calendar: it draws in thousands of farmers, contractors, and industry…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

110,000 visitors!

OPINION: It's official, Fieldays 2025 clocked 110,000 visitors over the four days.

Sticky situation

OPINION: The Federated Farmers rural advocacy hub at Fieldays has been touted as a great success.

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter