POOR N.Z. CHEESE

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIII, Issue 102, 11 April 1933, Page 11

POOR N.Z. CHEESE

IS RYEGRASS THE CAUSE? CONTENTION OF MR McCONNELL. COMPARISON OF SOUTHLAND AND TARANAKI. Under the heading “is Ryegrass a Factor in the Production of Unsatisfactory Cheese,’’ Mr Primrose McConnell writes in the March number of the New Zealand “Farmer.” The gist of Mr. McConnell’s argument is as follows: ‘‘ln connection with the deterioration in the quality of cheese some factory managers attribute this to the effects of top-dressing and whether there are grounds for this or not it is an acknowledged fact that the best butter is made from poor pastures. In Britain tho very finest farm butter comes from the shepherd’s cows grazed on the natural grasses and heather on the hills. The best cheese produced in New Zealand is in Southland and the lowest grade in Taranaki. The chief fertiliser used in top-dressing in Southland is super and in Taranaki basic slag. Is there any connection between the effects of the different fertilisers on the quality of tho cheese as in both areas ryegrass pastures are forced by topdressing yet in Southland cheese quality remains high while in Taranaki it is deplorably low. There is no doubt but the flavour of milk is influenced by tho food consumed by the cow and in the article referred to Mr McConnell says: ‘‘Like many others I was taught to look on ryegrass as the most important grass in a permanent pasture; but Scotland is not New Zealand; and taking all points into consideration, cocksfoot is entitled to the position of king of grasses in the Dominion. Nevertheless it must not be overlooked that the best pasture in England contained no cocksfoot. However, tho value of ryegrass in a New Zealand dairy pasture should be put to a thoroughly practical test without delay, and testing by analysis and weighing is valueless in this case.” FOOD AND FLAVOUR. Such a statement cannot pass without comment. Mr McConnell is certainly right in stating that the food eaten by dairy cows has an influence on tho flavour of the milk produced, dairy farmers knowing only too well that turnips can cause tainting in milk. From what the writer can tell, there appears to be no apparent reason why ryegrass should prejudice the flavour of cheese. The fact that Southland and Taranaki farming conditions are different makes a comparison between these two districts unreliable. Writing in ‘‘Dairying in Australia,” Mr A. O'Callaghan, of the New South Wales Dairy Division, states that if a cow partakes of food with a pungent, taste or smell, that taint is immediately imparted to the milk. The essential or flavouring oils of these plants pass very quickly through the animal system, and the milk becomes affected. The plants causing taints that arc mentioned by Mr O’Callaghan are carrot weed, wild mustard, trefoil, turnips and mangels. The fact that Australia and New Zealand are not so dependent upon crops as Great Britain and Denmark is a factor that should make for the production of a higher quality milk product. No mention is made in Mr o’Callaghan’s work to any adverse features of perennial ryegrass, and the writer has never heard of any comment in regards to the unsuitability of perennial ryegrass from Hawke’s Bay farmers, and if anyone is qualified to criticise ryegrass as a cow fodder, it is surely our local dairy farmers. The writer is of the opinion that further evidence should be given before any such claims against ryegrass are recognised. The importance of ryegrass to New Zealand is recognised by all, and such a statement as Mr McConnell makes cannot go unchallenged.