FAT AS A WAR "ELEMENT."

Otago Witness, Issue 3330, 9 January 1918, Page 8

FAT AS A WAR "ELEMENT."

Fat has been forced into a position of cue of the most necessary "elements 1 ' of the war—butter-fat, of course, leading—and consequently those dairy cows which can challenge the scales and Babcock test are in great dc inand throughout the world. The other kind of cow, the "boarder" sort, may well be fattened and "tinned" in due course. There is to-day a worldshortage of dairy products, and yet the longer the war lasts, the greater will be the decrease in cows. The outlook is cheerless enough to many, but there is a "silver lining." The value of cheese is recognised as possibly the most economical dairy product for human consumption next to whole milk in the world, and its worth is fully appreciated by the men at the front. Next to cheese in importance perhaps comes the canned milk industry of the States, which, since the war, has been speeded up in a wonderful way, the exports for the past fiscal year _ being more than 15 times the exports in the year preceding the war. The dairy business, indeed, in the States seems to have changed its course completely. • In an article in Hoard's Dairyman of recent date, the writer states that the dairy farmer favours as a business pursuit cheese, "tinned" milk, butter, and the supply of whole milk in that order, the last-named having fallen away owing to the economic pressure of the war. It is suggested that condenseries will in the future supply many of the large cities, the cost of foodstuffs, labour, etc., not being conducive to the maintaining of dairy herds on the outskirts of large settlements. It is perhaps hardly conceivable that prohibition would affect the dairy business in any material way, but such is the case. "Along with war enters also prohibition as a necessary economy, and this lusty giant has been growing at record speed. . . . Already one finds the big automobile factories of Detroit selling butter-milk tickets to their workers, so that they may refresh themselves with this dairy drink in place of the former 'can-o'-beer.' The speed with which all of Canada, except Quebec, has voted 'dry' fives but one answer as to what will appen in each and practically every State as fast as the people get an opportunity to vote on the question while the war "is in progress. With the heavy taxation and necessary economies ahead for years after peace comes, the 'dry' momentum is likely to clean the slate for all time. Such a movement is a distinct dairy gain." An appreciable, time will, methinks, have to elapse in this country ere the wheydrinking practice becomes general, but the trend is possibly in that direction, but has not been detected as yet. There is not a doubt, however, that the outlook for breeders of dairy cattle is bright at the present time, and that it is worldwide. To quote the viewpoint of a leading official in the States:—"Take Belgium, the • Netherlands, and Denmark alone, .and we had before the war the most densely dairy-populated countries of 4he world. * Situated as they are between London, Paris/ Berlin, and all the hundreds of great industrial cities of Europe, they were the specialised nations that depended most on the dairy cow. They each carried about 160 cows to the square mile. Now there are no Belgian cattle left, you might say, though because of the Belgian relief work a few cows still remain. If the war results in the clearing of Belgium from the hold of Germany, every animal will be taken, however. Peace must see a rebuilding of Belgium from the soil up. The first need will be dairy cows, and the likeliest place from which to get them is the United States. As to Denmark and Holland, whose dairy products lead the world in the open market, they are now forced to cut down their herds on account of the embargo of the United States. Up until this embargo law was passed there was presented to the world an efficient fightine Germany existing because American feeds were allowed to go freely to the adjacent neutrals, to be turned into butter, milk, eggs, cheese, bacon, and beef. Regardless of what these imported feeds cost the thrifty Danes and Dutch, their products always sold for prices high enough to make "a tremendous profit. Dollar bacon, eggs at more than a dollar a dozen, butter at that much a pound, and other prices in proportion, are indicators of the nrofit to neutral farmers who keep their herds up to capacity. Now this is ended, and already news of a reduction of a-half million head of cattle in Holland is announced. Probably as many more will be slaughtered in that country before the first of the year. In Denmark the same thing must happen until those countries have reduced their herds to a selffeeding basis. Even then, should the war draer out to a starvation point, the threat that Germany always holds over these two neighbours is likely to compel a continual and increasing slaughter of live stock to furnish meat for Germany, to say nothing of the war prices by which farmers will be tempted from now till

after peace comes. It, therefore, seems certain that American breeders of purcbreds, good grades, and even common heavy milking cows, will be called upon to furnish many boat-loads of dairy animals at war's end. Aside from these three great little dairy nations, Northern France, Serbia, Austria, Germany, and Bulgaria will be buyers of American dairy cows. Prance, "we know, has been called upon to furnish a great many million head more cattle for beef for soldiers than she is raising, which means the herds have been steadily dwindling. Now, normally, Holland and Denmark and the British Isles would furnish these imported cattle, not only because they are close at hand so that transportation and time would favour them, but their herds are high-class, and have furnished the dairy herds of the world largely. But the two little neighbour neutrals of Germany are going to be put under an economic pressure that «, year or two more of war will put out of the export business for two or three years at least. American breeders surely have the opportunity to furnish these cattle, and on their prestige won in doing this properly they can take the world's export dairy cattle business for themselves. Already our breeders have tasted the South American markets. These, and others developing, should not be overlooked." Certainly,, war has speeded up many dairy movements that were sauntering along slowly enough, and has revolutionised conditions of many supplying countries. Yet, it is not alluring to know that the peoples of great nations are suffering because of the lack of dairy products, even if these conditions assure dairy farmers high prices for their dairy products and live stock long after the ■war.