What is Babcock Method and Its Pros & Cons!
Demand for an easy test to assess milk quality emerged in the late 19th century in response to a growing interest in nutrition, pure foods, and truth in labeling. During that time, milk was sold by its weight. As a result, some farmers began to dilute their products or remove the cream from the top, punishing the sincere ones while introducing unpredictability into the milk supply for consumers. Professor Stephen M. Babcock (1843–1931) of the University of Wisconsin was tasked with coming up with a solution to this problem, and in 1890 he published the Babcock test with the help of Babcock bottles . Older tests, however accurate in detecting milk-fat levels, were too time and money-consuming to be extensively used. Dairymen immediately adopted Babcock's test's straightforward, cost and time-efficient answer. The test served as an effective method for establishing fair milk pricing based on quality and a helpful tool for animal breeding. Farmers could breed their herds for bette...