PROFITABLE DAIRYING

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 53, Issue 3813, 25 September 1936, Page 9

PROFITABLE DAIRYING

PRODUCING CHOICE CREAM. The task of producing choice cream is neither difficult nor does it entail much more labour than does the production of an inferior article, and the small extra outlay is more than offset by the increased returns. The quality of the cream is regulated by the following conditions: — (a) Health of stock and persons milking and handling the produce, (b) The purity of the food and water supply. (c) The attention paid to cleanliness. (d) The condition and type of utensils used, (e) Proper protection of eream from direct sunlight, dust, heat, flies, vermin, and from articles having a strong odour which may be absorbed by the cream, (f) Quick cooling of cream after separating, (g) Thorough stirring of cream to release gases and promote even ripening. (h) The time the cream is held on the farm, (i) Thickness of cream, (j) Amount of cream in can. Milk from sick or diseased cows mixed with milk from the rest of the herd may bring the whole supply down to first or second grade. Sometimes an injury may affect the cow in such a way that the milk is tainted in flavour, and very occasionally cases are found where a cow’s milk is abnormal and ye.t to all appearances her health is excellent. It is suggested that if the milk from one cow is suspected of being abnormal she be milked last and her milk not mixed with the supply from the rest of the herd. The grading of the next cream supplied will give an indication as to whether it is safe to use the milk from the suspected cow. The health of the attendants is another very important matter. Disease may be passed on to consumers from diseased attendants, although in most cases the flavour, of the milk will not be affected. CONTAMINATION OF MILK. Although such a valuable food, milk presents some dangers unless care is taken. It is 'an excellent medium for the growth of bacteria, providing waUmth, moisture and food. The wholesaler, the retailer and the consumer all play their part in the contamination of milk. This may arise by a di|r,ect infection from the cow, as witnessed by tubercular milk, or milk from a quarter affected by mammitis, but by far the greater amount comes from outside sources. On the farm, contamination mainly arises from: dung, and it is useless straining foreign matter out once it is in, as bacterial invasion has already commenced. In transit, dust is the most common source of bacterial infection; at the wholesaler’s or retailer’s premises it may be stale milk; while dust and flies and dirty vessels play a large part in the consumer’s household. The souring of milk is brought about by the adtion of an organism known as the lactic acid bacillus, of which there are several varieties, which converts the milk sugar into lactic acid. The organisms are übiquitious, but are found especially in cowsheds land dairies, and contaminate all apparatus and utensils. They are more active during hot weather than cold. The consumer must remember that it is useless for the farmer to produce a good clean article if it is not protected on arrival at the purchaser’s household. Clean milk should be available to all if the recommendations of the Nation Clean Milk Society of Great Britain are generally carried out. The cows should be healthy. All utensils with which milk comes into contact should be scrupulously clean. If possible they should be sterilised by steam or boiling water. The cows’ flanks, udders, and teats should be cleaned before milking, the udders and teats being washed and wiped with a clean damp cloth. The milkeps should be clean, wear clean overalls, land milk with dry, clean hands. Instead of the ordinary bucket a small-top (8-in. diameter) bucket should be used which allows very little dirt, dust or hair to fall from the cow into the milk. The milk should be cooled immediately because bacteria (germs) increase much more quickly in warm than in cold milk. It should then undergo pasteurization and bottling under sterile conditions. In the home, milk should be kept in a cool place, if possible in the sealed bottle or in a scalded jug or basin and covered with muslin, to allow access to air and to exclude flies.