RAPE FOR DAIRY COWS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1079, 18 March 1911, Page 8

RAPE FOR DAIRY COWS.

<DAIRY COMMISSIONER'S OPINION As there appeared to bo somo misunderstanding, and'a diversity of'opiniio.n amongst dairy farmers in the Ash- -. -.burton County as to the advisableriess . : or. otherwise of feeding milch coivs on • Tape, Mr. Watson, secretary to the Ash- ; !{P rto n Dairy Company, wrote Mr. Cud!die, Dairy Commissioner, on the ques.,tion, and asked if any experiments in the past had proved that pasteurisation »f cream eliminated the bad flavour • ansmg from rape feeding. The following reply was, says tho '.'Guardian," .■ /received from Mr. Cuddie:— , t _ "In reply ,to your letter of the 13th • instant, 1 may say that rape is not considered a suitable food for dairy cows atid your company would be well ad- ... vised to notify the suppliers that milk or cream from cows that aro fed on rape cannot bo received.' The milk, as we'll as the cream, will become badly itainted with feed of this nature, and - pasteurising this.'cream'will not eliminate it. _ If this practice is persisted in. ■.■complaints.aro sure to bo inado rcardjng the quality of tho butter. While it may be considered a suitable food for dry cattlo or for sheep, something that ) V »H not _ taint the milk should be used ■ .■lor -dairy ■ cows. ■ So far as wo aro aware no experiments have proved that pasteurisation will enable tho manufacture of'a. good Initter -from mill; or cream that has been tainted in this way.