BUTTER-MAKING

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21764, 2 April 1934, Page 12

BUTTER-MAKING

Sir, —The New Zealand dairy producer does not seem willing to realise that all the complaints sent out from Britian have called for reorganisation of the industry. The market for butter in Britain has not reached saturation point; it has reached the point where good quality butter of the flavour required is being produced by other countries. This butter finding the buying public is pushing the New Zealand produce off the markets. New Zealand has got to adopt Danish methods. Winter dairying has got to come and the Jersey breed has got to go. The high-testing, large fat globule yellow fat is not good for export. It is all right for sweet cream churned for immediate use. but not for factory production and export. At the present time enormous ripening vats are used, All qualities of cream are collected, pasteurised, deodorised, neutralised, and all mixed together and ripened in these large vats. Cream for export butter should be first quality only, collected the day of separating, pasteurised, cooled and starter-ripened. Other grades of cream should be kept separate and used in New Zealand. The farmers cry out about winter dairying. How many herds in New Zealand but what are, not in large quantities, but still milking all the year round. If the farmer is going to get a good return it would pay him. More stringent regulations on sterilising the milking machines anil better cleanliness in both utensils and milkers is necessary. Another bad tendency in factories is too large utensils. Much smaller vats and churns ore the rule in Denmark. Brine washing as well as the usual salting would probably improve quality, and a decided improvement in the method of selling at Home could be introduced, f know the British markets and 1 am satisfied if any factory will improve its methods and try out new selling ways at Home it will do well. First quality starter-ripened butter is wanted for the British market, and other countries are willing to supply it. Surely the' New Zealand public is not going to subsidise an industry that will not meet competition and supply what is required bv the British consumers. Margaret T. Harrison, N.rt.D., B.D.F.A.D.