The cows were kept out all year and milked in "bails", or mobile milking parlours, which offered a very cheap way of starting up a dairy herd. Paterson started milking with a bail in 1928 (milking the cows himself) and built up a farming empire which came to include up to 10,000 acres (40 km²) (in 1943), and 4,000 dairy cows (in the early 1970s).
The cows were kept outside all year round and milked using mobile milking units, which made it affordable to start a dairy farm. Paterson began milking with a mobile unit in 1928 (milking himself), and his farming empire expanded to encompass up to 10,000 acres (40 km²) by 1943, and 4,000 cows by the early 1970s.