DAIRY CONFERENCE.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXVII, Issue 5311, 24 June 1904, Page 6

DAIRY CONFERENCE.

SECOND 1 DAY. (From Our Special Reporter.) PALMERSTON, June 23. « The session of the Dairy Conference was continued to-day -in a rat,ier irregular manner. Business was to have been resumed at 10.30 in the orenoon. and tlm orfk’r paper contained a number of interesting subjects on which papers wore to have been contributed, hut the majority of tho delegates accepted the invitation of Mr D. J. Nathan to visit his linn’s hulter factory at Makino. when; the new process ol manufacturing dry milk is in operation. A special train conveyed the visitors to Makino at It a.m., returning to I almor.ston at midday. -Mr Natl,an condretnd his guests over the factory, and till, working of tho new process was inspected with much interest. In the meantime some of the gentlemen who had promised to read papers to the conlerenci, arrived at the usual place of nmeting, and finding no conference there went away. It was 2 o clock in the afternoon before the conference reassembled. Mr J. V. Foreman (president of tho National Dairy Association) occupied tho chair. Jhc attendance was large. Tills SEASON’S PROGRESS IX RUTTER.

Mr D. Cuddle, Acting-Dairy Commissioner. gave a review of the seasons progress in butter, having relerence to quality and suggested improvements. Ho said that at no time in the history ot the dairy industry in New Zealand had tho standard of quality • >' creamery butter reached such a high degree of excellence as during the season IJUJ--01. sjpeaking generally, this contention had been borne out by the reports received from tho various British pi o vision merchants who trade in New Zealand butter, and by tho testimony of Air Cameron, Produce Commissioner in his reports to tho Agent-General of’ New Zealand in London. Returns recently' compiled in his office showed that the percentage of first grade butter shipped to the United Kingdom during tho period under review amounted to 97j per cent. Of tins quantity over 30,000 boxes were scored by the graders 941 points or over out of tho possible ipo. "When wo take' into consideration the low prices obtained for New Zealand butler on tho Home market during the past season.’’ said Air Cuddie, “it is difficult to conjecture what .would have occurred had the quality on the whole not been satisfactory, and there is little doubt that the progress of the dairying industry would have received a very serious check indeed but for tho splendid condition in which tho bulk of tho produce arrived in London. If prices are high, we are more inclined to discount any favourable reports which come to hand, as it is well known that complaints are generally fewer when that market is good. During the past season, however, wo received those glowing reports in spite of the fact that the market was dull mid prices low; therefore, we are bound to place more than ordinary credence in the statements which have boon made. As the season advanced, quotations for butter gradually declined, and eventually reached a lower level than has been tho case during tho last ten years., In spite of these circumstances, the number of serious complaints in regard to the quality of our creamery butter have been almost infinitesimal,; thus it may justly bo claimed that the good average quality of Now Zealand butter was tho means t f preventing values receding to a point at which no margin of profit would have been left to tho producer, which would have had.a disastrous effort on the industry generally. As compared with previous years, there has been loss cause for alarm witli regard to fishiness in the butter from this colony, and. although this very serious defect has not by any means dis-> appeared, there has been a decided filll-ing-otf in the. number of cases reported. Notwithstanding the rapid progress which has been noticed in the improvement of the quality of our butter during last season and the preceding years, and tho recognition it has received at tho hands of tho British merchants and consumers, it is well to remember that there is still a wide field for further improvement* in the butter manufactured at a very largo number of our factories. It goes without saying that tho principal faults are in respect to flavour. A visit to any of the grading stores during the season would convince even the uninitiated that much of the butter sent in for export is far from being sound in flavour. It is apparent to all who know anything about the subject that what is required to-day is more uniformity in tho flavour of the butter and a better keeping article. The lack ot this very desirable characteristic is doubtless due in part to the methods ot manufacture, the faulty condition in which the milk or cream is received at the factory, and the strong, food flavours prevalent . in some districts. Uniformity is of vital importance in most manufactured articles —in none more so than in butter, and in order that a permanent and increasing trade may bo established, it must be uniformly good. For instance, if it could bo said of one dairying, district in New Zealand that practically the whole of the factories in that district wore turning out such a uniformly high-class butter that a purchaser could secure the output of any number of them, irrespective of brand, knowing that tho butter would suit his customers, the result would bo that instead of the butter realising 12s to 16s per cwt. under Danish, it would gradually rise in favour, and in the long run command a price, if hot ’equal to the highest, at least far above the average.” In order vo bring about this very desirable improvement. Air Cuddie maintained that it would be necessary to face the question of pasteurisation, so that the pure cultures and starters which are now in general use might bo utilised to the best advantage. Much had already been accomplished through the medium of'the pure lactic acid cultures, hut the controlling influence of these ■ a as to some Extent affected when they were introduced into cream which contained millions of deleterious germs, such as was frequently the case when starters are used without pasteurising the cream. He was well aware that srmo of the factory managers were ipposed to pasteurisation, especially those who wore turning out a good butter under the existing conditions, and there would be less need for adopting it provided all other factories could be brought into lino, but this cannot he dene. Pasteurisation would help us to overcome the lack of regularity in our butter and tho output of each factory would thereby become almost identical in quality with that of others. He drew attention to tho question of preventing the further spread of tuberculosis and other diseases amongst young dairy stock by moans of infected skim-milk. Factory directors and the great body of milk-suppliers wore certainly blameworthy in regard to this matter through failing 1 to insist that" .every gallon .of

skim-in.lk before being returned to their farms ■•hoiibl be pasteurised at a temperature sufficient ly high to destroy >lie tilhereh 1 bacillus. No lime should be io.-.t in fitting up a pasteuriser lor this prrpC'O at every dairy tactory in New Zealand. This would help to stamp out a very serious disease, ami would evcnril11v result it. Die breeding ol healthier call If. capable ol producing better milk, which in turn would lead to the production of better lamer. What had been aptly termed the weakest spot in the New Zealand dairy industry at the present, time was the interior condition in which some oi the milk was delivered at the factories. From his own personal observation, an.l from what bad been reported to him by other members ot the dairy stall, circumstances which would bring discredit o:; tile business and shock the public mind could bo related, hut this would not lessen the evil or help to solve the difficulty? To -say that' it was discouraging to the supplier who delivered sound and wholesome milk to have it mixed and used in the manufacture M butter along with that supplied by his less careful neighbour was to express bis feelings mildly, for -in this way lie «as being penalised through the laxity of others, without any chance of recovering tho loss. Seeing, then, that the quality of our milk supply was detective and in need of improvement, the only logical thing to do was to take steps to set matters on a better basis by ton piling the'backward or negligent dairy tanner bow best to handle the milk so chat tho selling value of the butter made from it would bo increased. The whole question of a better milk supply resolved itself into a matter of £ s. d. to tho fanner. In order to carry out ibis work in a comprehensive manner. It would (■> necessary to engage the services cf competent instructors under Government control—not necessarily paid by (he Government—who could advise the farmers on all points relating to tho care oi milk, disease of stock, and other matters connected with profitable dairy fanning. Looked at from a farmer’s point of view, it might seem that bis liberty of action would bo hampered by placing restrictions on what be might do ei not do with tho milk produced on his farm, but, on tho contrary, it would really have tho effect of increasing his returns and protecting his interests in the important industry in which be is engaged. Although the price of butter in tile British market bad shown a very serious decline during the last few months, and the prospects for the coming season were somewhat problematical, ho did nob see that there was any real cause for alarm on the part of tho dairy farmers, b'o tar as prices were concerned, good and bad years were inevitable in almost oycry branch of farming, and it .should be borne in mind that the dairy industry of this colony was placed on a paying basis long before butter-fat was w'orth 9d or lOd per lb. The present drop in prices would doubtless prove a blessing iiij disguise, as it would d ; roet attention to the improvement of dairy herds by breeding ftom the best stock and weeding out the poorest. By way of showing that many of the dairy cattle in Now Zealand are not producing, on tho average, a reasonable amount of butter-fat, Mr Cuddie said he. recently had a table compiled showing the average number of pounds of butter-fat produced per cow annually throughout Now Zealand. The figures worked out at 130.601 b per head. Taking into consideration that a fair average return should not bo less than 2001 b of butter-fat per cow yearly, this would show a loss to tho colony'of 32,768,1131 b oi fat, which, at oightpenco per lb. would amount to £1,002.270 8s Bd, or an amount, equal to about five-eighths cf the total vliluo of dairy produce exported from the colony during the past season.

Air Pariano observed that almost every English agent warned them to have nothing to do with pasteurised butter. What wore they to do ?

Air Cuddie replied that the bulk cf the butter now used at Home was made from pasteurised cream. There was too much irregularity in Now Zealand butter. A walk around the show would illustrate that. There was practically no pasteurised batter being sent from New Zealand. In Denmark pasteurisation was compulsory, which accounted for Danish butter being a better grade so far as uniformity was concerned. Air Cuddie was accorded a hearty vote of thanks. OTHER PAPERS. A paper was read on “The Creamery System,” by Air Charles Alackio. He contended that tho multiplication of small factories made the work of manufacture too costly, whereas the creamery system tended to economy of production. In reply to • questions, Mr Alackio said a creamery could be safely established with a supply of 500 or COO gallons. The testing should not be done at creameries, but by the manager of tho factory. Tho logical conclusion was that large creameries should receive more than small creameries, but in co-operation the smaller man should be assisted.

In a paper ho read on “The Cheese Industry,” Air Singleton, Government Cheese Expert, sketched the system of British supply. He mentioned that 84 per pent, of tho cheese imported into English-was of Cheddar make. The recent decline in prices was in tho best interests of New Zealand dairymen, and if some of tho unstable ones had relinquished the business, they would have left a large number of the class of men required. The lower prices could be counterbalanced by producing a larger profit per cow and per acre. The labour question was a very important one in regard to and the cry now was for a practical milking-raarchine. Referring to Canadian competition, Air Singleton remarked that New Zealand cheese was from Is to 2s below Canadian. They should aim at a higher standard than the Canadian. Air Singleton concluded by urging the necessity of the proper inspection of dairy farm premises. • In a paper on “Breeding Poultry for Utility Purposes,” Mr D. D. Hyde, the Government Poultry Expert, recommended starting in a small way. "Without capital it was difficult to achieve success. Movable fowl-houses should be specially used by farmers, and proper shelter should be provided. Sandy gravel soil was best adapted for all kinds of poultry, but not pure sand. A great mistake made by farmers was to keep fowls till they practically died of old age. Speaking of the possibility of the industry. Air Hyde declared that flocks in America, by means of legbands and trap-nests, had been brought up to an average of 188 to 290 eggs a year. Buying poultry by weight was strongly advocated by Air Hyde, and stress was laid on the necessity ot taking more care in marketing eggs. Air Foreman, president of the association, made some concluding remarks, during which he referred to the excellent addresses given and the great interest taken in the conference.