THE MATAMATA RECORD. MONDAY, JULY 2, 1928. CHEESE STANDARDISATION.

Matamata Record, Volume XI, Issue 933, 2 July 1928, Page 4

THE MATAMATA RECORD. MONDAY, JULY 2, 1928. CHEESE STANDARDISATION.

ABOUT a year ago this paper published a leading article dealing with uie question of cheese standardisation, and also a report of an address oy Mr. W. C. Dixon, cheese supervisor of the N.Z.C.D.C. Ltd., delivered at the 1927 annual meeting of the Matamata Ghamuer of Commerce, Mr. Dixon having been persuaded by the president of that body, Mr. B, C. Taylor, to come to Matamata for the purpose of giving the lecture. The president had previously explained to the chamber the heavy loss the Dominion was suffering on account of it being illegal to 'extract surplus butterfat from milk that was too rich for economical and satisfactory cheese-making/ Since that time exhaustive tests have been carried out by Mr. P. O. Veale, research chemist for the Taranaki Dairy Federation, to ascertain the relative values of different breeds of cows as producers for cheese factories. In this test the milk of 55 Jerseys, 50 Ayrshires and 70 Friesians was separately used for the manufacture of cheese, and the products, amounting to 49 tons of cheese, were sent Home for reports and marketing. Out of this research it is found that the Friesians are in the lead for cheese, yielding 13 per cent, more than Jerseys of high test, and although the Jersey cheese secured 2d per cwt higher on the market this amount by no means equals the loss due to production of cheese from such rich milk. Moreover, the cheese from the low-testing milk averaged 2d per pound butterfat higher over the season than that from the high-testing Jersey milk, due to the larger volume from the Friesians.' It is also both humorously and seriously significant that some of the cheese exported did pot contain the legal minimum of 50 per cent, of fat in the dry matter and yet was given first grade. The plain deduction is that we should adopt the Canadian standard of 45 per cent. The Ayrshires do not make so good a showing.

There is, however, room for comment on the conclusions drawn. The obvious inference of the report is that herds and factories should be specialised, Friesian and Ayrshire types for cheese, and Jerseys and other high-testers for butter, and the means to arrive at this difficult arrangement would be for a premium to be paid to suppliers of the lowtesting milk to cheese factprips, thus forcing the to the butter section. 1 • : ;

Here we enter upon a field of great difficulty, complexity and profoundly controversial. Let us, take a few salient ■ features, the mere recital of which will show the bristling nature of the problem. The Jersey is easily the predominating breed of cattle in New Zealand ; dairy companies manufacture cheese or butter, according to the anticipations of the respective market values, most up-to-date factories . being easily convertible ; to change the herds would be impracticable, and by the time they were changed the market may not be favourable ; all companies have been formed and factories built upon the assumption that the greatest quantity of butterfat would return the highest payments. These are a few factors to consider, and we must for the present leave their implications and complications to the consideration of the dairy farmer reader.

Mr. Dixon, in his address at Matamata alluded to above, pointed the way out, namely, cheese standardisation. This amounts to skimming part of the over-rich milk to extract the butterfat in excess of the percentage required by law as the butterfat content in cheese, which process the law at present expressly forbids, and cheese for export must be made from whole milk only. But if the butterfat over say 50 per cent., but preferably over 45 per cent., could be extracted the solids or casein content in the partially-skimmed milk could still be used for cheese, and the surplus butterfat sold in addition, it would mean many thousands of * pounds more in the pockets of the dairy farmers per annum. That the scheme is feasible is proven by the fact that it is done in other countries, including Australia. Even though Australian cheese, owing to climatic and other factors, does not fetch as much as the New Zealand article, yet the surplus butterfat is said to more than compensate the Australian dairymen. There also seems to be a wide range of variation of suitable fat content, for cheese that has had under the standard amount of fat has been graded as being too fatty, other factors contributing!' to that condition ; other cheese having over the required content has been graded unequally, some

being T too fatty and others of the same content have not been so

classed.

The practicable remedy seems to be that advocated in these columns last year, namely, to permit the extraction of surplus fat,' using the same for butter-manufacture. In fact, it is well known that in the process of separation many impurities are taken away, and it would probably raise the quality of the cheese to separate all the milk, putting back the required amount of cream, minus the impurities the separator takes out. It is’ a great pity that the Hawera test did not also include standardisation, but this might well be undertaken during the coming season, by permission of and in conjunction with the Dairy Division. Should such tests prove ‘ satisfactory—and those conducted by the N.Z.C.D.C. Ltd. pointed that way —then a practical solution of the problem would be in sight, instead of a welter of controversy, inconvenience and impracticability. Evolution has ever been more satisfactory than revolution.