DAIRY PRODUCE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 5 October 1926, Page 5

DAIRY PRODUCE.

IMPROVING OUR EXPORTS. '

THE GOVERNMENT’S POLICY QUALITY THE KEYNOTE. r (No. 7.) In an investigation into the- root causes of .the relative, decline lii the position on -the Home market of New Zealand’s dairy produce, and in search of remedies for existing faults, a representative of The Star approached thp Hon. O. J. Hawken (Minister for Agriculture) and the Director of his Dairy Division, to secure the Agricultuial Department’s idea- of the main points upon which the industry should concentrate to secure improvement in our butter .and- cheese for export. With the approval of the Minister, and 'through the ready co-operation of the Director qf the Dairy Division, The Star is in a position to place before its readers the following official pronouncement: — The improvement of the dairy industry from the dairyman’s standpoint might -resolve itself into two main factors; viz., the reduction of the cost of producing butter-fat, and improved selling price as the result of a higher appreciation of the quality of our nutter and cheese by the consumer. The first factor should receive special attention by the dairy farmers, so as to enable them to continue tlieir vacation at even lower prices for produce, should such eventuate. It is, however/ with resipect to the second factor —qualityhr? that attention is directed here in. New Zealand dairy factories are, as a rule, well equipped, and there ate few factory -managers who cannot- manufacture a good quality of produce, provided they are given good milk or cream tp handle. Good milk or cream, is .merely “clean milk, or cream kept cool.” Unfortunately' not all of us 'have as high standard of cleanliness as should bo idle case, and our. dairy produce suffers thereby. The extension of farm dairy instruction as. not only helpful to dairymen whose standard of cleanliness may be below par, (but that assistance is. also helpful to dairymen who are naturally clean, but who may inadvertently overlook one or more important points, agid thus nullify other good work they have been doing. The extension of this (farm dairy instruction service will assist improvement. - ' - 1 Greater care is being taken <in the grading and partial - neutralising of cream for buttermaking purposes. More attention is being given to- the proper pasteurisation of cream, and the principle of pasteurisation of milk r for cheese-making has extended. In view of the fact that Britain merchants have valued cheese from pasteurised milk at two shillings or more per cwt. above miauy cheeses, made from raw milk doubtless further .improvement will be effected through an extension of this system. Some of our butters and cheeses have v ‘been held- in the United Kingdom: for protracted .periods, and it is _ believed that the temperatures at which 'souie were held were too liigjh. It is anti-, cipated- that in future less of pur butter iand cheese will be withheld from the market for such protracted periods and that -more attention will he paid to the conditions under which produce is stored. v