The Rotolactor is a largely automatic machine used for milking a large number of cows successively using a rotating platform. It was developed by the Borden Company in 1930, and is known as the "rotary milking parlor".
 Modern 2008 "rotary milking parlor" (Rotolactor), Großerkmannsdorf, Germany | |
| Process type | Cow milking apparatus |
|---|---|
| Industrial sector(s) | Dairy |
| Main technologies or sub-processes | Milking a large number of cows |
| Product(s) | Rotary milking parlor |
| Main facilities | Walker-Gordon Laboratories dairy |
| Inventor | Henry W. Jeffers |
| Year of invention | 1930 |
| Developer(s) | Borden Company |
History
The Rotolactor was the first invention for milking a large number of cows using a rotating platform.[1] It was invented by Henry W. Jeffers.[1][2] The Rotolactor was initially installed in Plainsboro, New Jersey.[1] The rotating mechanical milking machine was first used by the Walker-Gordon Laboratories dairy and was put into operation on November 13, 1930.[1]
Description
The Abstract of the 1930 Cow Milking Apparatus (Rotolactor) patent states:
"The object of this invention is to provide an apparatus whereby an indefinitely large number of cows may be milked successively and largely automatically..."[3]
The Rotolactor held 50 cows and could produce 26,000 quarts of milk.[4]After each cow received a bath, their udders and flanks were cleaned.[5]
The August 1931 issue of the American Journal of Public Health and the Nation's Health described the Rotolactor as an advance in cleanliness and hygiene for milk production.[5]
Legacy
The Rotolactor was featured at the 1939 New York World's Fair in the Borden's exhibit.[6] The Walker-Gordon farm in Plainsboro later became a museum.[7] The farm building in Plainsboro containing the Rotolactor had an observation room to accommodate visitors, including large groups of school children.[4]
A 1930 film was titled: "New Jersey. 'The Rotolactor' - hygiene's latest - automatically washing and milking 50 cows at one time in 12 1/2 minutes - inaugurated by Mr. Thomas Edison."[8]
The Walker-Gordon farm stopped producing dairy products on June 18, 1971.[6]
See also
References
Bibliography
- Hart, William (2003). Plainsboro. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-1168-9.
- Kane, Joseph Nathan (1997), Famous First Facts, A Record of First Happenings, Discoveries, and Inventions in American History (Fifth Edition), The H.W. Wilson Company, ISBN 0-8242-0930-3
- Patton, Stuart (2004). Milk: Its Remarkable Contribution to Human Health and Well-Being. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4128-2876-5.
Further reading
- "Dairy Farming History: Page 4 of 9". Elsevier Ltd. J E Shirley, Kansas State University, Tompkinsville, KY, USA. 2012.
- The Market Milk Industry. McGraw-Hill Book Company. 1950. p. 130. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
- Frandsen, Julius Herman, (1958), Dairy Handbook and Dictionary, publisher - Torvald A. Bertinuson, p. 690 "Milking Parlor"