NORTHERN ADVOCATE DAILY TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 1933. THE DAIRYING INDUSTRY.

Northern Advocate, 18 April 1933, Page 4

NORTHERN ADVOCATE DAILY

TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 1933. THE DAIRYING INDUSTRY.

Registered for transmission through the post as a Newspaper.

"* * We have just ■ completed publieation of a series of special articles dealing Avith the dairying industry. Our purpose has been to slioav that if dairying is to continue to be the principal industry in Northland, or in Ncav Zealand, for that matter, it must be overhauled from top to bottom. Ncav Zealanders have been 'comforting themselves with the belief that New Zealand butter Avas the best in the Avorld, and, as a consequence, have done very little during recent years to improve the, product. Dairy farmers, relying on the wonderful climate and other favourable conditions which give Ncav Zealand an advantage over most countries in the production of milk, have in too many instances imitated the rich man’s son Avho, feeling tha,t his future is assured, has slacked while the poor man’s son, knowing that his fit-

| Inrc* depends upon his own exertions, has made, the most, of every opportunity to improve himself and his enterprises. The consequence is that New Zealand butter, which should have no equal today, docs not occupy the high position it should occupy. Jt is well that this should be recognised, because it is not always true that “where ignorance is bliss, ’tis folly to be .wise.” We are afraid that the New Zealand dairy industry has lived too long in a fool’s paradise. The time lias come when facts should be looked in the face, and the industry begin the work of putting its house m order. This is something which the industry must do for itself. It is the master of its fate. Nature t lias bestowed lavishly upon the dairying industry,' but some dairy farmers have not made use of the gifts as they should Have done. They have been too indolent or not sufficiently intelligent to do so. To Nature’s gifts have been added the scientific knowledge gathered by researchers, who have put within the farmer’s grasp all the information, required to make the fullest use of his endowment, and so produce the finest cream, in the world. We believe that a large proportion of dairy farmers have availed themselves of the advantages placed wpthin their reach, and are sending from their farms cream which is not surpassed in, any country. We also believe that a large proportion of dairy factories are turning out butter which has no superior. But there are farmers who do not measure, up to this high standard,.and, as a consequence, there are dairy factories, which do not manufacture the best butter of which New Zealand is capable. This is the crux of the dairy industry’s problem, and it provides the reason for. our contention that the industry itself must do the work' of putting its house in order. It must discipline the farmers.who are acting as a brake on the wheels of progress and lowering the standard of the Dominion’s dairy*produce. The industry must realise that as the strength of a chain is only that of its weakest link, so the careless, ignorant or dirty farmer sets to a large extent the standard of the daily industry. .The farmer who is content to produce second-grade cream must be reformed —or eliminated. He has no place in an industry the. prosperity of which depends .primarily on the quality of its product. It is this fact which we have emphasised in our series of special articles. We have set out the requirements. of the industry: proper soil for the dairy farm, a combination of grasses which experience has proved to possess the best milk-making qualities—capable of producing the highest grade butter, that will not develop : deleterious flavour or appearance during its long journey in cool storage to Britain—the best possible dairy herd, certified to be free from disease ;■ hygienic daily and milking machinery; speedy and dust-free transit...to factory; the most modern 'methods of manufacture; and the economic marketing of the product. We have urged a tight-ening-up of grading methods on the farm, at the factory and at the grading store, believing that if the standard of grading were raised the all-important factor of cleanliness in the production of cream would be automatically established. We have emphasised the paramount importance of the scrupulous cleanliness ' that should be observed in-every detail. of daily farming. Yards, dairy and machinery must be spotlessly ’ clean, and everything with which the milk comes in contact must be sterilised. This is where the human elementplays its dominating part. It is absolutely futile to have concreted yards and bails and up-to-date milking machinery if the men and Avomen Avho handle the milk are not themselves immaculate in their personal cleanliness. It is surely a travesty that the oldest clothing, frequently redolent of coavs and milk, should be donned at milking-time: those whose Avork lies in the milkingshed should regard themselves as akin to the doctors and nurses Avho “scrub up” before enteringthe operating theatre and wear special clothing. If such cleanliness, even in modified form, Avere observed. Avhat a tremendous improvement Avould be Avitnessed in regard to the standard of butter and cheese. Without scrupulous cleanliness there cannot be produced the finest grade of butter, but even cleanliness may be defeated by greed. In other, Avords, the desire to increase output and decrease Avorking costs may quite easily be responsible for a lower standard of product than should be alloAved to leave the Dominion’s shores. This danger would be largely overcome if the spirit of unnecessary competition between factories Avere stopped. This could be done in the Avay avc have urged our articles. Dairyfarmers within a specified area should be obliged to send their cream to the near-

| esi factory, the manager of Avhich should know, that, if he rejected a consignment, it would not bo accepted elsewhere. This, with a higher standard of grading, and more rigorous official inspection to supplement farmjers’ oversight, of their neighbours’ methods, Avould. we arc i convinced, result in onr dairy produce becoming the world’s best. With quality assured, and their output pooled and placed in the hands of a selected feAV of London’s merchants, on the lines avc have frequently suggested, Northland dairyfarmers could safely market a large percentage of their butter in halfpound and pound packets bearing a distinctive Northland brand. We hope the industry throughout the Dominion will lose no time in beginning a work' for which there is urgent need.