FEED FLAVOURS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXX, Issue 4883, 13 August 1936, Page 3

FEED FLAVOURS.

AUTHORITIES BLAME CLOVER. In the course of the annual meeting- of the Te Awamutu Co-operative Dairy Company, Limited, last weelc, the chairman (Mr. C. M. Alexander) made reference to the investigations made by officers of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research into problems affecting- pasture lands in the Waikato and King Country districts.

The prolific growth of last year, he said, had given dairy companies in the Waikato a pronounced lead in output compared with factories in the northern part of the province, but it was the worst season dairy factories had ever experienced for feed flavours in cream. A certain variety of feed flavour had been particularly pronounced in the early part of the season, and it appeared to be confined to the territory extending from Te Kuiti on the south, as far north as Frankton, when it branched off in the Morrinsville direction. Although this had proved in no way detrimental to the selling quality of the butter on the Home Market, he said, the Department of Industrial and Scientific Research had been carrying out investigations in the Waikato extending over two years, and the results of these would be published shortly. “These results,” said Mr. Alexander, “show that, contrary to general belief, liberal manuring with superphosphate is not a contributing factor. It has been fairly definitely established that the flavour is due largely to clover when this is in a rapid stage of growth, and that all varieties of clover come under this head. The sooner our pastures in the Waikato are made grass dominant the sooner this trouble will disappear. The remedy appears to lie in the direction of liberal applications of manures with quickly acting phosphates, such as superphosphate with occasional dressings of ammoniated super and lime.” Mr. Sinclair, the secretary-manager, said he had received two letters on the subject from the Director of the Department. The first one referred to the preparation of a report on the investigations, and said it appears that the findings regarding the year’s work confirm the work of the previous year. The writer added: “An outstanding- feature of this year’s work, from the practical aspect is the direct confirmation of the fact that the more improved the pasture becomes and the higher the per acre production, the lower is the feed flavour intensity of the cream produced. ... It would appear that when productivity of the Waikato is doubled and trebled improved ci - eam from the point of view of feed flavours can be expected. The transition from clover dominant to grass dominant is the troublesome period, and the longer this transition period the slower will be the improvement. The best manurial programme and the means of financing this are problems for the future.” The second letter said, inter alia: “On the whole the year’s work confirms the earlier conviction, and as far as field work is concerned there is plenty of scope for work on the lines indicated. The country in the Waikato must be worked up to a higher standard of soil fertility and nitrogen is the keynote so far as the increase to grassiness is concerned. The two methods to secure this nitrogen are: (1) To increase the phosphate dressings per acre, in order to get more feed so that more stock can be carried; (2) the direct application of nitrogen in the form of ammoniated super or neutral ammoniated super. (If ammoniated super is used the land should previously have been limed.) (3) The best paddocks should be improved first and these should be used for day grazing—the more clovery fields being used at night or shut up for hay and ensilage. (4) It is essential to have a good perennial ryegrass on the country, else improvement cannot be rapidly effected. Resowing to certified ryegrass strains or the introduction of more seed into the sward by surface cultivation and seeding is recommended. These are the more essential practical consideration. The crux of the matter is probably one of finance, and any aid the factory can give in the matter of finance to suppliers for the above work the quicker I think the problem will be eased —eased at least to the point where the factory, by its processing methods, can deal with the problem. In financing the suppliers with manures, and possibly certified ryegrass seed for the purpose mentioned, the company is backing an almost ‘dead certainty’ that the increased production alone will pay good interest, and it certainly looks as though ultimately the quality of the cream will be vastly improved from the feed flavour point of view.”