STANDARDIZED CHEESE.

Southland Times, Issue 21218, 20 October 1930, Page 3

STANDARDIZED CHEESE.

To the Editor.

Sir,—l have read with interest the report of the Southland Cool Stores and must congratulate the dairy companies on their venture. Embodied in the same report was the discussion on the question of standardized cheese which was raised by the chairman, Mr J. Dunlop. I do not agree altogether with Mr Middleton, who I think was a little severe on the Director of the Dairy Division because it is obvious that Mr Singleton is not entirely a free agent, having many interests to serve. Evidently the regulation in force was not drastic enough to protect the industry and in that perhaps the director may be blamed. Whilst I am of the opinion that standardized cheese could have been adopted quite successfully, I consider that the hope is now gone owing to the conduct of some of our manufactures during the past season. Therefore, the obvious thing to do is to Bring pressure to bear upon the Minister and make him repeal the regulations and prohibit the manufacture of standardized cheese. In this I do not feel very hopeful as the Dairy Division or .Minister did not lend a very attentive ear to the many resolutions which were passed at various dairy conferences held from Dunedin to Auckland on the question of appointing farm dairy instructors for our cheese factory suppliers. Probably on no other question of importance to the dairy industry has the feeling been more unanimous, practically demanding these appointments for the obvious welfare of our cheese industry. We know that the Director of the Dairy Division is most sympathetic as he fully realizes the immense value of such instructional work as being applied to the butter producers but here again he is seemingly not a free agent. I am led to believe that the grading points of our cheese are to be tightened up immediately as a result of the quality of last season’s manufacture. Isn’t this sufficient to prove the dire need for the immediate appointment of instructors? It would be opportune for a free discussion on this matter when the question of standardized cheese is taken up by the Dairy Control Board with -the Director of the Dairy Division next week and I for one would appreciate some knowledge of the Minister’s reasons for not conceding to the request of the producers for farm dairy instructors for cheese as well as butter producers.

Finance usually rules most things but this cannot be made a valid reason for refusal as the butter producers are, I understand, meeting two-thirds of the present cost of these Government-appointed instructors and I take it that cheese producers would do likewise. Southland in particular seems to be very unfortunate in the connection as it is the only province without an instructor. The crux of the trouble with our industry to-day is that we have ample dairy factory instruction, that is at the manufacturing end, but none at the producing end of the cheese industry. —I am, etc., “SOUTHLAND.”