Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, FRIDAY, FEB. 1, 1929. THE DAIRY INDUSTRY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16866, 1 February 1929, Page 6

Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, FRIDAY, FEB. 1, 1929. THE DAIRY INDUSTRY

It was somewhat of a bombshell for dairyfarmers in the Waikato the other day to be told that their industry is slipping back and that drastic changes either in grading or methods of manufacture are needed if the Dominion is to hold its place in the London produce market. Fortified by the good prices that, have prevailed for some time past, the dairyfarmors appear to have satisfied themselves that their produce luul reached an unassailable position of par excellence, but they have now the assurance of Sir Thomas Clement, head of a well-known dairy importing firm, now visiting the Dominion, that this is by no meansi the case. Sir Thomas declared it to be his duty to tell dairymen that while the quantity of their produce was increasing, the quality was not improving. It was, in fact, going back, and the people at Home had begun ,to realise this. One of the chief faults of New Zealand butter, he affirmed, was that it was over-neutralised, with tne result that it “lost palate." This lack of palate made all the difference between a big consumption and a small one. He commented upon the fact that tho disparity in the prices of Australian and Now Zealand butter was steadily disappearing, which meant either that the Australian methods were improving or that the New Zealand product was going back. With regard to cheese, Sir Thomas declared that the fault lay not so much with the flavor as with the texture. This was too open, and the cheese frequently fell to pieces on being cut. The fault was getting worse every year. Personally ho considered the grazing methods here wanted overhauling, and the standard should be based on the British palate. New Zealand butter was not at present satisfying the British palate, while her cheese did not equal the Canadian for quality. There was greater need for the investigation of the technical questions concerning manufacture. They wanted more scientific knowledge--a greater knowledge of bacteria. They were too haphazard in the application of starters, whereas with more knowledge they could get starters of absolute dependability. Sir Thomas Clements’s criticisms nrc supported by Mr. W. G. K. Wright, editor of tho New Zealand Dairyman, who has recently returned from England after a visit of investigation. Mr. Wright states that it is undoubtedly a fact that the quality of New Zealand cheese has gradually deteriorated during recent years. The fault has reached such dimensions as to be a serious menace to the future of tho industry, and is causing a do-, dine in the demand and consequent decline in price relative to other competitors. The average quality of Now Zealand butter Mr. Wright holds to be intensely satisfactory, but he considers the use of neutralising agents should be dispensed with ns early as possible. Other competitors were endeavoring in every way to copy and improve on New Zealand butter. The pasteurising and neutralising of butter had resulted in a butter closely resembling a neutral fat which had .lost all the true virtues of a butter with a flavor stimulating the eating of larger quantities. What was wanted was a butter with a free bouquet, and this could bo secured,with the use of a proper starter culture. The Danish culture was one selected to develop the maximum flavor in from one to two weeks. Tho question of dairy pastures, he considered, deserved much more attention, and there was room for much research work in soil chemistry and the nature of pastures. It would appear that tho use of artificial fertilisers had changed the character

of the herbage in .this country, and consequently the flavor of the milk. Pasteurising had overcome the flavors in milk, but had raised ihe new problem as to flavor of the finished article and also Instituted changed methods of manufacture. This in turn should all be investigated. Further evidence as to the deterioration in the quality of cheese comes from Mr. A. McKenzie, one of the dairy instructors in South Taranaki. ‘‘ To get right down to tin tacks,'-’ lie said. “there is not; the slightest doubt that so far as this season’s Taranaki cheese is concerned, the quality of a very large proportion has not been maintained.” One cause of this decided backward stop, Mr. McKenzie states, may be directly attributed to the lace for yield, or, in plain English, the desire to produce as much or, if possible, more cheese than other factories, per pound of fat. The whole process is hurried and the result is a soft and weak-bodied cheese. Another factor is the quality of the milk supply. Since the introduction of pasteurisation, there have been instances of a tendency to rely on those machines for the cleaning up of all defects in milk. Pasteurisers will make fair milk better, but iwere never intended to, nor will they, make inferior milk good. If it is badly contaminated all the pasteurising in .the world will not bring it back to normal. ’ The iustructor, .we believe, lias put his linger on a weak spot in our dairy system. Sufficient supervision is not exercised over the milk after it has left the cow and before it reaches the factory. If it bo true, as Sir Thomas Clement asserts, that New Zealand dairy produce is gradually slipping back in quality, it is a matter of the greatest importance that the defects should be investigated and remedied. The race for yield has been allowed to overshadow, the imperative demand for quality.