Farmers Handing Milk Cans to Delivery Driver

(Original Caption) In 1929, this Ashe County, North Carolina farmer brought his milk up to the highway to have it picked up and delivered to the dairy for processing. In those days, many farmers still without refrigeration, had to rely on a spring house or similar methods for cooling milk until it could be sent to the processor. In hot weather, the ride to the processor could cause some of the milk to spoil. An innovation in getting milk from farm to processor came with the bulk tank method of storing milk on farms under refrigeration and transporting it to the processor in an insulated bulk tank truck which kept the milk cold. The sanitary truck specified routes on a schedule basis. The system was first used in California in 1938 and in Connecticut in 1948. Since 1953, the system grew rapidly and covered 75 per cent of all milk used in bottle products.