Teaching Farmers to Produce Better Milk

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 7189, 22 June 1933, Page 10

Teaching Farmers to Produce Better Milk

DOMINION WIDE INSTRUCTION NEEDED. The need for Dominion-wide dairy farm instruction is emphasised by Mr Wan. Singleton, director of the Dairy Division, in his address to the N.D.A conference at Hamilton to-day. Owing to the adverse economic conditions no progress, ho states, can be reported with respect to the early bringing in of Dominion farm dairy instruction. The matter has been given careful consideration from time to time and conversations have taken place with the Dairy Produce Board and individuals prominent in the industry. Tho general consensus of opinion appears to be increasingly in favour of such a general service, and in this respect I am of opinion that the demand is moro general than ever before, and it is unfortunate that finance is such a hurdle, due, of course, to the low market prices for dairy produce. In the meantime the number of farm dairy instructors varies a little. There are 34 officers on duty and work is being carried out. in co-operation with 77 dairy companies with 31,000 suppliers or about 45 per cent, of the total suppliers for the Dominion. The milk or cream delivered by these suppliers represents about 73,000 tons of butter and 42,000 tons of cheese, or about 60 per cent, of our butter and 42 per cent, of our cheese forwarded to the grading stores. With over 51,000 farm separators and 23,000 milking machines milking 72-1 per cent of our dairy cows, the necessity for Dominion farm dairy instruction will doubtless be manifest to all.