The Dairy Produce Industry.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXI, Issue 6695, 22 September 1896, Page 4

The Dairy Produce Industry.

Mr Herman Olsen, who is at present in New Zealand, gave to a Wellington Times representative some information of great interest to dairy farmers concerning the .methods adopted by Denmark, New Zealand's great rival in the London market. "In Denmark and Sweden,' said Mr Olsen, *' the methods are systematic. Every care is taken to get herds of good milking strains, and for this purpose we find that the best stock is a combination of threequar'ter Ayrshire and one quarter shorthorn. This combination gives all that is wanted. The Ayi shire, itself is too small, and that defect is made up by the slight shorthorn strain'introduced. Then the dairy experts under the control of the Government have to be acquainted with the breeding and care of cattle, and they must visit not only the factories, but also the farms, and tell the farmers how to feed their cows, how to treat them, what breeding strains to select. Some years ago I started in Sweden what are called bull associations. These associations were formed amongst the small farmers; the Government subsidised each association by giving it money to buy a first-class bull, then the association repaid the actual cost of the bull, and the Government; paid freight and all the expenses. Then the best cows were branded, and only cows having this special brand were allowed to be used for breeding purposes. In this way an immense improvement has taken place in the small farmers' herds. " These i ssociations were established to help the small farmers only, but the large farmers have started associations in a similar way, but on a much larger scale of course, and these associations also receive a Government subsidy. So that the improvement of the" herds is manifest all through the country." " Here in the colonies," Mr Olsen continued, " a man keeps, perhaps 50 cows of a mixed class, and the average yield of milk is, say, 300, or 400 gallons. But if he kept only the very best cows, the quantity of milk would increase to nearly double. Here is another thing : the time must come—and this has become a most pressing question—the time must come when the farmers will have to shelter their cows in winter time, and to provide food for them in a more systematic manner by making ensilage and hay. It does not pay to do this, some farmers will tell you. But it does pay. If you just think you will see that in the winter time for about four months you have pretty cold weather; than the cows are without shelter, and get very poor, and when the summer comes it takes a couple of months before they can recover, and for that time you are losing a great deal of the milk you ought to get from the cows, and would get if they were in proper condition." "Now as to the dairying industry, there is one thing that ought to be impressed upon farmers, and that they ought never to be allowed to forget, and that is the necessity for scrupulous cleanliness. Most certainly improvement is required in that direction in New Zealand. I have been travelling a great deal in this colony and seeing most of the factories, and I have not the slightest doubt that great improvement is wanting so far as cleanliness is concerned. I do not mean to say that it is so everywhere—not at all. But that it is so in some cases cannot be denied. " When milking, for instance," said the expert, "it is very rarely they clean- the adder. In Sweden the milkers clean the udders and dry them with a towel, and each milker must wash his hands after milking each cow. But sometimes in New Zealand I have seen boys dip their hands in the milk, and go on milking, the dirt running from their hands into the milk. It is one of the dirtiest and mosc disgusting things imaginable. " Then," and Mr Olsen became even emphatic, " you will see this much more surely when the milk is separated. You open the separator, and there you see a thick sheet of dirt all round the pail. Take this dirt and put it under a magnifying glass, and you will find that it contains hair, manure, coagulated milk from the udder, and dirt of all kinds. It is a dirty practice," he repeated, " and it is common all over New Zealand. It is absolutely impossible for any butter-maker to make good butter of unclean milk." With mixed feelings, the pressman turned his thoughts to the nice-looking and better-tasting cup ot tea he had had that morning, and Mr Olsen meanwhile went on to suggest improvements in the dairy industry. ' "To make dairying profitable it is necessary to produce butter of uniform and well-keeping qualities. In order to get a uniform quality, it would be wise for small factories in a district to join together and have a central dairy factory. This has already been done in several cases, but not so much in Taranaki. There are a lot of private factories in Taranaki which ate working on their own hook ; and the butter from the small factories will never gain the same high standard in the market as that from a central factory. " Then, in order to improve the quality of the butter, we have introduced' in Scandinavia the Pasteurising of cream and the employment of artificial fermentation. They are starting in Victoria and also in New South Wales to make Pa'steurfsed cream and Pasteurised butter, and no doubt this method of butter-making has a great future,before it. Dairying in these colonies is hardly out of the pioneering stagie, and until'dairy men become acquainted with' the whole business, it is hardly possible to carry out the proper system in the proper way. But New Zealand is more suitable for. this method of Pasteurisation , than the,; Australian colonies, because y.ou have here a more Suitable climate, and any quantity of cool water."' Mr Olsen described the method ,of Pasteurisation, .and shpwed how absolutely necessary it was to" get "the-milk perfectly sweet and fresh to the "factory. "Sour or tainted milk," he said, " should be distinctly refused. In New Zealand as well~as in Australia in the summer time you will find many a timei suppliers sending in sour milk. Such milk is suitable neither for butter-making nor cheesemaking. There is no excuse for any such milk. It simply means that the suppliers do not clean th'e milk cans or use proper care in treating the milk overnight.. The Separator Company has Pasteuring appliances now in iise in. most of ihe .factories-in Sweden and Denmark, and the other day one factory , in, Australia ordered 16 of them." Mr Olsen pointed out that the keeping quality of the butter was more important to "New Zealand for export than richer flavor, and this'keepiDg quality .is obtained by Pasteurisation. " You can produce butter more cheaply in New Zealand than in Sweden and Denmark. The expense of feeding our cows is greater, but our strength is, of course, that we are able-to send our butter in a perfectly fresh condition to the London market. Here you do not make nearly as much of skim milk as you ought. You could do a great deal more with it in riiaking skim milk chees9 and i filled cheese.'" Mr Olsen spoke of the grading system introduced by the Government as a wise step,' and one entirely in the right direction. He; claims, however, ; that it does .not go far enough. : -After the produce is graded here, tie_says, it jsjfiable jbq change on\the voyage, and turn, out quite.a different article; : " We have .in Denmark and Sweden a method that works beautifully. A commission of-dairy expertsrand butter merchants is appointed, and the Government pay their, travelling expepsfes'to the port of shipment, where they examine samples taken without 'any Tf6tTce~wbatever factories. Then after one : tnonth—saffifcienti.&me to test the 'butter "for 5 its keeping

qualities—the safiae batter is tested agian.; If afiy faiilt is ionnd aHr&egram'is sent to the factory coricdrnGcj, and"^e'"dairy : ex-' pert .of th^tdii&rict'Haytti'go tcr th&'faetory aiiS reiiiaiii' ttievesifpsi'visib^'tiiework "nntif'fcHe;'fault; whatever -it' ! lie,'"is remedied. The factory p'ebple &6 no kaowbeforehand when their hatter is to be called 'in by the comrnissibri, and thus they are kept always : tipi to their best work." Mr Oken said that in Denmark and Sweden the New "Zealand Grading Act is highly spoken of. In Mr MacEwan, he said, , the people of Now Zealand had a very kble expert, who was highly praised in Canada and .wherever he was known. The Alpha' a'eparators made by the De Laval Company (of which Mr Olsen is the representatlve)"have a world wide reputation.' They are in .use in 95 pfef'cent. of the factories in Sweclen and Denmark, and in the United States thfiy have attained a high place.