CO-OPERATION IN DAIRYING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15932, 1 June 1915, Page 4

CO-OPERATION IN DAIRYING.

ADDRESSES BY EXPERTS.

HOW TO OBTAIN HIGH GRADES.

Several interesting addresses on dairying were delivered at tbe annual conference of managers of dairy factories, held vectorday.

Mr. D. Cuddie, director of dairy produce, referred at the outset to the 'advantages which followed an extension of the I principle of cooperation. Out of 502 dairy 'factories, .450 were conducted on the inoperative principle. The co-operative system had doubtless been a very large ; factor in the progress they had made, for, ! besides the factories, they had co-operative freezing works, co-operative bacon factories, and co-operative box-making works, and, finally,, there was the National Dai7 Association, which looked alter the commercial interests' of the affiliated companies. It would, therefore, be apparent ! that the principle of co-operation fcenied to be extending throughout New Zealand. He was glad to be able to tell them that I the quality of the butter shipped last seai son was well up to the standard, but they I were not making as rapid progress as they ! should. There had been 80 per cent, of really first-class creamery butter, but there was from 14 to 15' per cent, of ; what they might call . poor firstgrade butter. It was towards the j improvement of this large quantity of butter of indifferent quality that they should direct their "efforts. A certain soda flavour had been associated with the North of Auckland butter, caused by the over-dosing of the cream with bicarbonate of soda, which was used as a medium for neutralising tha acidity of I the- cream. In some ca. <?s the factory managers were not responsible, because the contractors had taken supplies of cream from farmers situated at Jong distances from the -central factory. " The equipment of thy factories was excellent, and was not responsible in any way for the low-grade butter. Another cause of defective butter was over-working, which sprang from an anxiety on the part o'. some of the companies to obtain a high yield. The managers were instructed toincorporate a' much moisture as possible I so long as they kept within the standard. I In the attempt to get this high moisture it seemed necessary to work the buU'.T for a longer period than could be recommended. Complaints had been received from the Old Country stating that grocers in London had been fined for selling butter containing an excess of water. Precautions to prevent this should be taken. He did not say, of course, that any excess that crept in was the result of deliberate intention. The principal trouble arose in connection with the flavour. In the majority of cases the fault was due to the raw material, and that was where cream-grading came in, especially in the Northern factories. To the North Auckland district belonged the honour of having introduced this splendid system. A delegate said that any information which came into the possession of the Government with reference to the flavour of the butter should be made public Mr- Cuddie said that tfiey had recently found something which they thought would be a good substitute for the use of bi-carbonate ef soda. If a trial proved its efficacy they would be able to recommend a change which would do away with this defect.

Mr. G. M. Valentine, dairy instructor for the North Auckland district, referred to some matters which affected the qrade of the butter. He had seen milking machines in an unclean condition, while there was an impression, for which the agents were in a measure responsible, that the ;.ir-pipc did not require attention. There was also the complaint of the presence of an " oil-engine flavour" in the cream. The oil engine was occasionally to be teen in the same compartment as the separator 0" close to it. Some separator rooms, too, he had seen which left somethin» to lie desired in the matter of clean line-*. Tin' separator, said the speaker, -lioiikl lie washed every night. He referred to methods to be adopted for minimising the feed flavours which, he remarked, were often so troublesome.