THE PRODUCTION OF BUTTER-FAT

Taranaki Daily News, 30 April 1931, Page 10

THE PRODUCTION OF BUTTER-FAT

(To the Editor.) Sir,—ln Tuesday’s paper appears «■ letter written by Mr. Freeth regarding Jerseys and the prices recently paid for Jersey cows. There is no doubt that if farmers depended on those cows for the production of butter-fat the owners would very likely soon be joining the ranks of the unemployed. When it comes to the production of butter-fat we all know that 'the Jersey cow ifc good, but not superior to other recognised dairy breeds. When it comes to the production of milk for the manufacture of a first-class cheese, Mr. Freeth seems to be suffering from the same disease as the Dairy Division and also many factory directors, and that i/i to shuffle and back-slide away from the true position. If Jersey milk is ideal for cheese then why standardise? Why do we see factory lorries carting skim milk four or five miles to dump into vats of milk that are consideicd too rich for the manufacture of a firstclass cheese —by a first-class cheese I mean a cheese that the consumer requires and will send repeat orders for? With Canadian cheese at 20s to 22s per cwt. ahead of New Zealand cheese for the past season, it is evident that England is in the position to pay a fair price for a good article, and New Zealand cheese is looked upon as thirdclass. What have we to show for standardising?. A considerably reduced market and increased manufacturing costs. Therefore, through trying to manufacture a cheese from unsuitable milk the Jersey cow has shut out at least 20s a cwt. for all cheese exported this season, which has gone a long way towards increasing unemployment and not reducing it, as Mr. Freeth would have us imagine.—l am, etc,, FULL CREAM.