Cream Grading Explained For Poverty Bay Conditions

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 17947, 26 November 1932, Page 14

Cream Grading Explained For Poverty Bay Conditions

A COMPREHENSIVE summary of ™ cream grading and points necessary for dairy farmers to observe in endeavoring to secure finest tickets is provided by a Gisborne man whose authority to talk on the subject is undisputed. He has compiled the following article, which applies particularly to Gisborne district conditions: —

Cream grading and differential payments are not universal in New Zealand and most other countries. The most important factor that determines the quality of cream is its flavor, and the only dependable method of grading cream is by tasting. The standards of grades arc three— Finest, first, and second. Finest is a cream clean in flavor, of uniform consistency, and free from serious defects in all other respects.

First grade is cream almost clean in flavor, of uniform consistency and free from serious defects in other respects. Second grade is cream below first grade quality, but suitable for the manufacture of butter for human consumption. Distance No Disadvantage.

There is nothing mysterious or impossible in the production of finest grade cream. 'All that is required is strict cleanliness and proper cooling. The bulk of bad cream received is the result of neglect of these two points. The quantity which is defective from other eausos is very small and a little investigation will usually locate the trouble.

Among tho objections made to the grading of cream is the argument that a supplier who lives at a distance from the factory is placed at a disadvantage. Experience has shown that that is not tho case, as suppliers so situated frequently send the best cream. This is no doubt due to the fact that extra care is taken, while the nearby supplier thinks that being so close no care is necessary. Good cream takes a lot of spoiling, but bad cream is spoilt before it leaves the farm. All eream is graded at the factories, not before it leaves the farm. The first inquiry a farmer makes when his cream is first or second grade, is “What is the cause of it?’’ The grader cannot always tell; it is only by years of experience that ho can pick out and definitely state the cause. Cream is graded down because of the flavor it contains and the flavor it imparts to tho butter made from it. Whether the fault is prcvcntßDie or not docs not enter into the question, as tho point is not considered by tno butter buyer, who is the man the factories have to please. All butter is bought on the senses of sight, smell and taste, and cream is graded on the samo senses. It is not necessary to apply a scientific test. It cannot be said a farmer would get a higher grade by scientific tests; some would get a lower grade, as a scientific test would show defects which had not reached the stage at time of grading. Some Reminders.

There are many points a farmer should consider and the following reminders may be helpful. Many farmers copy each others’ methods, and lax methods have a tendency to spread. The old saying that “two wrongs do not make a right’’ applies as much to dairying as to anything else.

Low quality cream may be caused by using milk too soon after calving, from covs r s in calf and far advanced in lactation, cows suffering from mammitis, or those which have aborted or are suffering from any disease or illhealth; failing to wash hands regularly in clean water; failing to wash udders freo from dust or mud, before milking; failing to use cleau cloths for udders, hands, etc.; failing to use clean cloths on strainers for straining milk; failing to use good milk buckets and cans (galvanised buckets are not allowed); failing to wash separator twice daily, and washing with cold water only; using dirty cloths or brushes for washing utensils; failing to scald ail utensils and brushes after washing; failing to wash and scald cream cans on return from factory; failing to use good water (rain water is always preferable); skimming cream too thin or too thick (cream testing 40 to 44 per cent, is best); using too much skim milk or hot water to flush out separator bowl after skimming, failing to stir cream with metal plunger (do not use a piece of wood); keeping cream in kerosene tins, ’rusty cans, buckets, etc.; failing to forward cream on delivery days; failing to protect cream from dust, flies, or vermin; mixing hot and cold cream; failing to use a suitable cream cooler and to keep cream cool whilst on the farm; failing to protect cream cans from the sun on the roadside; failing to remove cream from the milking shed or separator room, particularly where oil engines are in use; failing to wash down* the cow-shod, separator room, and drains every day; failing to remove manure from shed and yards; failing to wash milking stools, leg-ropes, door handles, etc.; failing to wash milking machines, first, with cold water, then boiling caustic soda water, and finish with boiling water (always keep in mind water boils at 2.12 degrees F.); failing to wash milking machines immediately after milking; failing to take releasor down for washing daily; failing to take lid off vacuum tank daily; failing to wash all air systems. Never allow a milking-machine to get dirty. This is comparatively easy if it is properly washed from the first time of using. Feed Flavors.

In the early spring feed flavors cause a good deal of dissatisfaction, particularly from farmers who are not cooling and stirring their cream. It lias long been recognised that ryegrass, cocksfoot, paspalum, timothy, and white clover produce the bestflavored milk and cream. Green oafs, green: maize, carrots, mangolds, pumpkins, lucerne, and cow grass do not affect cream seriously, if properly fed immediately after milking. Tho worst fodders are turnips, swedes, choumollier, subterranean clover, trefoil, lotus major; all weeds such ns garlic, pennyroyal, buttercup, land*

cross, wild mustard, wild turnip, fennel, watercress, etc., should be eradicated. Mouldy foods such as mouldy hay and mouldy ensilage, should not be fed to milking cows. Like all other produce, quality is essention. In view of the keen competition of other countries, and the low prices ruling, particularly for first grade butter, every farmer must endeavor to forward the very best of quality cream.

CONFIRMED PROOF

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