A CRITICAL PAPER.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 234, 26 June 1908, Page 5

A CRITICAL PAPER.

INSTRUCTION IN BUTTER FACTORIES. , A QUESTION OF SYSTEM. A paper, the. authorship of which was something of a mystery, was sot down for reading yesterday at the conference oil the " present system of instruction in dairy factories, and whether that instruction is in the best interests'of the dairy farmer." Sinco the paper was more or less, a criticism of'tho' dairy inspectors' methods, it was held over, at the authors' - request, until Mr. Cuddio could be present to : day, and was read this aftornoon. 'The plural authors is u'sed advisedly,' because it' transpired this afternoon'that the paper was,the joint production of several dairy factory managers. It was read by Mr. J. Curie (secretary of tho Factory Managers' Association), and ran:— " Our motive in reading before this Conference this short paper on the 'present system of dairy instruction in butter factories,' and whether that instruction is in the best interests :of tho dairy farmor or not, we wish it clearly understood we are not in any way antagonistic to the Dairy Department and its instructors. Wo recogniso fully that the reputation which the' butter fiom the Dominion holds in tho markets of the world is in a great measure duo to tho instruction given by the dairy instructors, and to tho system of grading in vogue in this country. : Methods Criticised! '' Wo also recogniso that tho methods employed by tho Department have been subjected lately to a vast amount' of criticism, which is bound to havo the effect of causing a feeling of indecision in tho business as to whether the interests of tho dairy farmer, who is abovo all tho man most to be considered, could ■not lie better conserved by not following too closely tho mothods employed by the instructors. " The instruction given by the Department lias always been to tho effect that' wo must make and export a dry, waxy butter, •as 1 that is the article wanted on tho lioncton market. That is tho butter which will bring in the highest price, and bo most sought after should a slump come, and that is the butter which is graded highest at tho grading port. ,

"To manufacture this butter it is necessary to leave the cream at a certain temperature, about 46 dog." F, with a small percentage of starter added to ripen before applying tho cooling power; then to reduco it to a low temperature 40 dog. or 48 dog. by churning time to reduco tho water intended for washing tho butter to 36 dog. or 38 dcg., and aftor manufacture to hold tho butter at about freezing point beforo forwarding to the grading store. The question as to tho cost of manufacture does not concern tho instructor when working at a factory. Ho puts his wliolo mind and energy to tho manufacturing of a butter which will please tho grader, and will be given high points. His whole aim is to show us how to make a highgrading butter. Tho Great Aim. " Factories have in tho past all ' been straining to mako this class of butter. Managers have been practically forced to it t:> hold, or better, their positions. Somo factories, in applying for a managor, ask to see previous grade notes. Some give bon~ uses for all butter grading over -a certain point, and A. and P. Associations give prizes, for- tho highest average grade. Farmers aro not in tho dairy business for pleasure, nor yot owing to their love for cows as a matter of sentiment. Not for Lous. ' They aro in it for .the sake of tho money to bo made; therefore wo must look at the business from a commercial standpoint, and endeavour to manufacture our butter so that tho highest profit is got therefrom. © "To come to tho point; wo ask: Is the duty of a factory manager to bo to turn out a high grading butter or to increase the price paid per lb. of butter got to his suppliers by manufacturing what we may term a medium grading article? The Point. . "Wo know that tho supplier to tho factory with tho highest averago grade docs not always secure tho highest payment for his butter fat, for oven supposing the higher graded butter ma.y return a shilling or two per cwt. more, which does not often happen, the cost of producing such butter is so much greater that tho net return may be low in comparison with tho medium graded article. Medium Grade Butter. "Letus consider what this medium graded butter is and how made. In place of leaving tho cream at about 64 dcg. P., as the instructor does, we reduce it at onco to as low a point as possible, with tho well water about 58 deg. or 60 deg., add a fair amount of starter, and put the ; refrigerator to work on it' straight away; aim to have tho temperature ( at about 54 degrees at churning time, and tho wash-water at 50 degreesand after manufacture forward without any further cooling to the grading storo. This butter in comparison with that made by tho instructor will at the storo be graded from one to 1 i points lower both in flavour and body; fvhioh means that it will bo a 90 or 01 point butter against the instructor's 93 or ■94 point.

Most Profitable Butter. "This medium scoring butter should bo, all other things being equal, the butter which returns most profit to the manufacturer.' To gain the extra two points in-grade, the instructor runs his plant several hours per day longer than is necessary if manufacturing a medium graded article. It takes a considerably longer time to cool tile cream after being allowed to 'ripen some degrees <1s : it stands to thicken, than to cool it straight after separating. It takes longer to reduco the wash-water to 36 deg. than to 50deg., and then there is the extra freezing to keep the chamber cold enough, to set the butter, up before forwarding it to the grader, all at the expense of fuel. adding to the cost of manufacture. Over and above this cost, the instructor's butter will bo three or four per cent, short in moisture' content. Moisture Content. _ "This moisture content subject has been before us for some time, and we have always been advised, to,.make our/butter , contain as little of it .as' '■possible. / /Why? We are told that tho/less moisturo our butter contains the greater are its keeping qualities, and that owing to its drynoss it is sought after by the better class of trade. How far liavo these surmises proved correct by experience? Have we any proof that. the less water there is in our butter the better it keeps? Some assert the opposite — that tho water being in reality a brine, tends to preserve the butter. Somstimos Rejected.. "We are told that in some quarters our butter is rejected for lack of moisture, as in consumption a dry butter docs not go so far as a moist butter. Here comes in the better class of trade, that class known, as butter blenders! They are the ones who crack up our dry, waxy butter. It suits them right down to the ground. They are ■tho only men who complain of moisture; they are the only ones interested in the -analysis of butter. They (the blender's) have studied the question further than we have, and know that tho addition of moisture is demanded by the consumer as three-quarters of a pound of 16 per cent, watered butter will go as far as one pound of 9 per cent, watered butter. A Question.

"Is it tho correct thing for tho factory manager here to lose his employers this profit? David Harum's logic was, in a horse deal, always allow tho other fellow to make something. Wo can do the same, but surely not to tho extent of £3 or £4 per tori. Water costs but little, and three or four per cent, oxtra in our butter means £3 or-£4 per ton in tho pocket of tho farmer. When a'slump does come in the butter market, the butter, no matter how good, has many faults, and prices vary no more between the high graded and tho medium than they do on a bare market. Butter containing from 12J- per cent, to 13 per cent, of moisture by analysis has been known to, bring from 3s. to ss. per cwt. more than butter in the sarno shipment containing only 9, per cent, to 10 per cent., proving that moisturo is - not always a detriment. If our methods are correct thon tho dairy inspectors should teach "incorporated" moisture. Free moisturo is to bo avoided. There are many managers wondering whether _it is better to try to manufacture a high graded butter- and chance being disrated For small over-run, or to manufacture a medium article with a large over-run. and go down for .low grade. The term overrun should be abolished and fat content be substituted, as the,amount of fat in tho but-, tor should .be the. guide as to what an over-. run should be." In .conclusion, _it was hoped that Mr. Cuddie (Chief Dairy Commissioner), from his investigations abroad, would help towards a clear understanding. MR. CUDDIE SPEAKS.. Mr.. Curie ■ explained. that, the paper had been writtento provoke discussion. After some, views had been expressed,. Mr.. D. Cuddie (Dairy Commissioner), speaking by request, said the Managers' Association deserved every credit for bringing the matter up. (Applause.) Ho felt alb dairymen believed that ho and his staff were doing their best in tho interests of them and of the country. (Applause.) Ho proceeded that years of experience and study at Homo had convinced morchants and others, that butters with the least amount of moisture kept best. Some of them had told their agents abroad, to pay most money for. tho dry butter. Tho flavour of some of tho "moist butters was faulty. They m Now Zealand had not been ablo to investigate this matter as much as they would havo liked, because facilities were lacking, and they could only accept what tho highest authorities said. Tho.y said that butter containing tho highest percontago of moisturo did not keep as well as dry. butter. Ho assured his hearers that tho butter ho saw at Homo containing a high percontago of moisture was nearer grado 88 than 91. (Applause.) It was the impression at Homo that the moisture percentage in New Zealand butter was growing, and on coming' back hero be had found it had gone up by 12 per cent. Ho would warn Now Zoalandcrs against the increase. The moisture content in the samples analysed this year was just under 13 per cent. Mr. Cuddio further dealt with other points in tho paper, his remarks being well received.