OUR DAIRY WEALTH.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 23 May 1925, Page 6

OUR DAIRY WEALTH.

IMPORTANCE OF QUALITY

ADDRESS BY MR. SINGLETON

“The volume of our exports of butter and cheese has increased, to such high figures that New Zealand has grown I‘r'om a position of insignificance in the world’s dairy produce trade to one of major importance. From the 191314 season to 1924-25 season, our butter exports ?iave increased! jV 210 Jper cent., and our cheese by 90 per cent. New Zealand’s total exports for the year ending March 31 last were valued at £54,771,158, of which"dairy products represented £18,834,304, or 34,38 per cent, of the total. Having attained to. such an important position in the world’s trade, and recognising the portance of our dairy trade to New Zealand, the subject of quality cannot be either ignored or treated lightly.” The above pronouncement was made by Mr W. M. Singleton, Director of the Dairy Division of the Agricultural Department, in an address delivered at the dairy factory managers’ conference at Pahiatnn on Thursday (reports the Dominion). importance of Quality.

“The factory managers,” said Mr. Singleton, “have been taking an active and commendable interest in the quality of New Zealand butter and cheese, more particularly when we recognise that they, are not primarily paid on the basis of quality. The question of quality is. doubtless, a more important consideration in the payments to dairy farmers than to factory managers, and yet it is questionable whether the average supplier takes as much interest as does the average factory manager. Perhaps this is because the factory mtinager may he more lenient in his judgment of the "Suppliers’ milk or cream than is the grader on the cheese and butter.

“The importance of good quality is recognised by us all,” proceeded the Director of the Dairy Division. “Farmers do not buy land without inspecting the farm under offer. I will admit that frequently the wife’s opinion of the house may carry as muoh weight, and this may be taken as emphasising the importance of good finish in dairy produces. Dairy farmers inspect daii'y cow's before purchasing, and the principle applies to the purchase of clothes, boots, etc. The purchaser desires to get a commodity that will suit his purpose, be it dairy farm, dairy cow, suit, or boots. Purchasers of cheese and_ butter want the commodity that will suit their purpose. The time has passed when the average consumer will appreciate rancid, fishy, or stale butters, or offflavoured, and that class of cheese known as stinkers.

“Not all our cheese and butter suits our would-be consumers. At times the importer’s client in a distant city may depend on the importer to. select and send him what he requires. Sometimes the importer may not have had quality good enough to send, but he has sent the best he had] regretfully, and with probably greater regret lost liis client for good, and New Zealand, lias lost ah outlet for its produce, which good quality would have retained.

Growing Competition

“The importance of good quality in our butter and cheese was possibly never - greater than now,” continued Mr. Singleton. “We are experiencing growing competition, not only from Argentine, but from Siberia, Finland, Esiitom'a, and Latvia. Australia and Canada are endeavouring to improve the quality of their butter, and are copying our system. Sweet and clean milk and cream is the foundation of the best quality, whether it be butter or cheese. When New Zealand diverted from whole milk separation at butter factories and skimming stations to home separation, the process of manufacture had to be adjusted to make the best possible article from the staler cream, due to lack of cleanliness of many farm separators, and to less frequent and more irregular delivery. Pasteurisation of cream and partial neutralisation of the acidity had fco lie restored to, and it is pleasing that New Zealand has done as well under adverse circumstances as is the case. Voluntary cream grading with a lower price for the quality has affected much 'improvement, and’ there is such an appreciation that the demand is becoming insistent for compulsory grading. Voluntary grading would be more pleasing to the! Dairy Division if .it- only became effective genera'ly. Unfortunately, there are those who are more interested in turn-over than in quality, and the voluntary system will; hot become sufficiently general. I am of the opinion that ‘compulsory grading’ must he adopted sooner or later. , “The Flavour of England.”

“Pasteurisation lias, by destroying most of the bacterial life in our cream and milk, done much to improve the quality of both butter and cheese,” the speaker continued. “\Y. H. Hudson, born in Argentine, went to England, and wondered what a certain flavour was which so generally permeated his nostrils. He termed it ‘the flavour of England.’ Later he traced it to a brewery. Were it not for our salubrious weather, with its air circulation, visitors to New Zealand might think, when travelling through our dairying districts, that New Zealand had a flavour of its own. We keep in some of our best districts so many cows on a given area that cow manure is not uncommon. The germ of bacteria that decomposes cow manure will, if it gets into milk, tend to make gasy or pinholey curds, which in time make ‘offflavoured cheese,’ that will, with maturity, develop into what the trade knows as ‘stinkers.’ Clean sheds, clean milking machines, clean milking in clean utensils, etc., will assist in keeping out these harmful germs. I saw a milking shed ,in Scotland that in August was being whitewashed the third time that season. The tenant was making clean flavoured cheese from unpasteuriesd milk. But we in New Zealand are not quite as extravagant with whitewash and boiling water as they were at that dairy. Generally speeakmg out milk is not so free from bacteria, consequently the majority of cheese factories pasteurise their milk for cheesemaking. About 70 per cent, of our cheese is now made from milk , which has ~een pasteurised. Pasteurisation also tends'to the manufacture of a more uniform quality from vat to Amt, and from day to day. “It is admitted that some poor quality, first-grade, cheese, and even some second-grade cheese, do, at timessell for as much money as first-grade. There are times when some grocers can work off some second-grade quality. Judging by my oavu experience, some secondgrades are worked off in WeTington, and we have paid full price, too. “That good quality counts m the United Kingdom was indicated by Mr. Davidson in his address as retiring president- of the Scottish Provision Trade Association, when ho referred to the fact that Scottish: cheese should be straighter in colon,r and cleaner in flavour. "if clean flavour is wanted in Scottish cheese, our off fla\ T our in.some of our cheese cannot be appreciated as much as some of the advocates of nonpasteurisation would suggest. Great Improvement in Quality.

“Pasteurisation, partial neutralisation of acidity, and the grading of

cream, with a differential price payment, followed up by farm dairy instruction, have worked great improvement in the . quality of butters from some districts,' and particularly the Waikato,” continued the speaker. “It is only a few yeans since the district was manufacturing much butter of poor quality. Now it is turning out much butter of superior quality. Farm dairy instruction work has been in operation during this renaissance period of the dairy industry in that district. lhe experiences of tarm dairy instructors generally is to the effect that the first visits disclose much need for improvement in the c’eanliness of milking machines, farm separators, etc. Other dairy -farmers may spend considerable time on the cleaning operations, hut as the result of missing something cannot deliver good milk. In such cases suggestions from the farm dairy instructor have enabled many dairy farmers to cut down the labour, but make a niuejh better job. These farm dairy instructors are helpers, and although appointed as instructors under the Act, they are not permitted to. use all the authority given by the Act. No dairy farmer has been prosecuted in connection with this service. The officers as helpers become friends of suppliers, and officers report that it takes practically all their time to fill requests for assistance. After a few years in a district some officers have found themselves in a position to report that it would- be difficult to find a dirty milking machine in tire district. Cream Grading

“Most effective farm dairy instruction work is done where efficient cream grading is carried on, and a differential price paid. In cheese-making districts, to get value for farm dairy instruction work there must be efficient inspection on the receiving stage, and milk which manufactured by itself would make a second grade, should be returned or a lower price paid. Under these circumstances. farm dairy instruction is a good investment if the number of suppliers on the programme be. sufficient. “The number of farm dairy instructors working on basis of co-operation between the Dairy Division and one or more dairy companies is 30. We have already a request in from an additional district for a farm dairy instructor for next season. Some districts have already had such. a. service for five years, arid are still rising these officers. The districts in which this service in operative include Hokianga, * Hikurangi, Wliangarei, and Maungatapere, Northern Wairoa, Waikato, Taumarunui, Eltham, South Taranaki, Wanganui, Feilding, • Palmerston North, Levin, North Canterbury. Temuka, Qtago, and Southland, the South Island officers being connected almost entirely with butter factories. The dairy companies served by farm dairy instructors manufactured produce during last season which accounted for 44 per cent, of the total butter-fat graded as butter and cheese. Tliq districts in which these instructors are working will, I feel assured, continue to extend as the assistance given becomes more generally recognised.”