CANADIAN DAIRYING

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 130, 5 June 1933, Page 12

CANADIAN DAIRYING

AN OLD INDUSTRY

INCREASED HOME DEMAND

Dairying is not only one of the oldest industries in Canada, but it is also one of the most progressive, states the Canadian Pacific Railway Trade Review. The early French colonists brought with them a kiiowledge of the making of butter and cheese, and each farm was able to produce sufficient for its own requirements. In the year 1783-85 the art of butter and cheese making was extended to Upper Canada, and dairying commenced to occupy a more ■ stable place in' the life, of the country.' :Ear]y' records show that in 1801 there was a surplus of. butter in Kingston, Ontario, and that some was exported to the United States. It was not until 1864, however, when the first factory was established, that dairying entered upon the era of development and expansion which has placed it in the forefront of the industries of the Dominion.' • It owes its modern position to the introduction of the factory system for the making of cheese and butter, the invention of the centrifugal cream separator, and the facilities afforded by improved methods of cold storage. THE EXPORT TRADE. In 1900 production of creamery butter was 36,066,000 pounds and the output of factory .cheese'22o,B33,ooo pounds. In 1931 production of creamery butter had risen to 225,955,000 pounds while that of factory cheese had dropped to- 113,956,000 pounds. In the interval exports of both cheese and butter had'reached their maxima, and subsequently declined. The maximum export of cheese was 233,980,000 pounds in 1904 and that of butter 34,128,000 pounds in 1903. In 1931 exports of cheese were 84,788,000 pounds, and butter 10,680,000 pounds. .. . The decline in exports, of cheese and butter' is due to the greater requirements of home- consumption caused by the relative increase of urban population in Canada since the beginning of the present century. This has had,the effect, to a considerable extent, of increasing, the demand for milk whole, and of replacing the manufacture o£ cheese for export by .that of butter sold for home consumption. CONDENSED MILK PLANTS. There has also within recent years been a large increase in the production of condensed milk. The^-first milk-condensing plant was established at Truro, Nova Scotia, in 1883, and there are now in Canada 26 plants for the manufacture of condensed and evaporated milk and milk powder. . The total value of products of the dairy faotories of Canada' in 1931 was 104,482,400 dollars, or about £21,000,000. V This figure does not include butter made on the farm and known as "dairy butter," nor home-made cheese -or the value of milk consumed fresh. The total value of all dairy products in Canada in 1931, including the items just mentioned, is estimated by the dairying authorities at 161,243,580 dollars, or about. £32,250,000. Production of dairy butter is estimated at 104,640,000 pounds. '