HIGHER CREAM QUALITY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18758, 15 July 1935, Page 11

HIGHER CREAM QUALITY

DAIRY INSTRUCTION GRADING DIFFICULTIES BETTER METHOD URGED An appeal for an infallible method of cream grading at dairy factories was made at the Dairy Board ward conference at Gisborne to-day, when instances which dairy farmers found difficult to explain were quoted. Mr. A. J. Murdoch, M.P., chairman of the Dairy Roard, had addressed the meeting at length and had mentioned the proposed Dominion scheme of dairy instruction, Mr. J. 11, Sunderland, secretary of the Kia Ora Company, drew attention to the £IO,OOO offered by the board towards farm dairy instruction, and said the board could not make this donation out of the present levy. Mr. Murdoch replied that the board already had that amount from another source. Replying to Mr. Sunderland regarding local market control, Mr. Murdoch gave an assurance that nothing drastic would be done. • In answer to a question raised by a member of the audience, Mr. Murdoch said that great, care must he given to the selection of men for the job. He knew many farmers objected to a Government official coining on to their tarui, but he believed iliat- when the Dominion scheme was going properly the cream grader would not nave so many, nasty tastes to meet. Mr. G. Purvis, dairy grader and instructor at Gisborne, said that the best method of grading cream at present- was by tasting. To further questioners, Mr, Murdoch said the board was satisfied that New Zealand was supplying first-class butter, but it had to consider whether the butter was meeting the tastes of the consumer in Britain. Mr. E. R. Renner, chairman of directors of the Okitu Co-operative Dairy Company, Limited, said that so-long as cream grading by taste was in vogue there would be always dissatisfaction with the method. The sooner the system was altered the better for everybody. Mr. A. T. Carroll, chairman of directors of the Wairoa Co-operative Dairy Company, said that- cream grading was a vexed question. Suppliers were dissatisfied. and there were' instances which would cause anyone to doubt the present system. Cream front the same can had often been graded differently, and the factories were unable to explain why. This, lie said, was sufficient to warrant investigation. He realised that cream graders could not satisfy everyone, but he considered that the present scheme required tightening up. M ! r. A. Littlejohn said he did not think it possible for a cream grader to grade a first grade cream as second grade. There might be a variation in gradings, but only in borderline cases. In the cases mentioned by Mr. Carroll, the speaker said that the girader might have given the supplier the benefit of the doubt with one can, grading one finest and the other first- grade. A supplier: Does it matter, because you mix up our first grade butter and make finest out of it. Mr. Murdoch: If you did not grade on taste, how would you suggest doing it. A dairy factory director: On bacterial content, but it is a very slow process. The discussion on this matter then lapsed.