FODDER TAINT DANGERS

Taranaki Daily News, 19 August 1933, Page 8

FODDER TAINT DANGERS

NEED TO MINIMISE THEM MR. J. M. SMITH’S SUGGESTIONS. ADDRESS GIVEN AT STRATFORD. How to eliminate the influences that bring a farmer second grade milk when he thinks his arrangements are perfect and particularly how to avoid the fodder taints that affect milk at times were discussed in an address prepared by . Mr. J. M. Smith, chairman of the committee of the Stratford Demonstration Farm Society, for delivery at the annual meeting of the society at Stratford on Tuesday. As Mr. Smith was at Christchurch the address was read and at .the conclusion a hearty vote of thanks was accorded the absent chairman “for a highly thoughtful and painstaking treatment of the subject.” Variations in flavour and odour were attributed by Mr. Smith to four causes: The internal or physical condition of the cow, absorption in the cow from highly flavoured fodder, absorption into the milk after production, bacterial development within the milk on standing. Mr. Smith suggested that if all other , precautions failed to prevent taint, some consideration might be given to the milk of the individual members of the herd. A cow unhealthy through dietetic trouble would possibly become a source of trouble during the course of the ailment, while any trouble would cease when the animal reached a healthy state a S ain ’ . , . .j ; There were authorities who stated it was impossible to obtain a taint through body absorption. Most farmers, however, would agree that that cause, o. infection was probable, for they had had the experience of milking by hand cows that had been fed on turnips or other highly flavoured fodder and as. the milk flowed into the bucket the nauseating gas assailed the nostrils. - Absorption into the milk after production was perhaps a more common source than the two previous ones. Frequently in and around the milking shed and milk stands conditions were not all that could be desired and while a taint thus derived could hardly be called a food flavour still the food might often be the indirect cause of it. A herd coming into a shed from a field of turnips -carried with it distinct effluvia and the droppings while the herd was in the yard added to them. Frequently the waggon would be used most of the day m the early spring for carrying ensilage and then backed against the milk stand, which was usually covered. Of course provision was made for air currents througn the covered milk stand, but even in Taranaki there were calm nights when the atmosphere surrounding the cans would not be stirred. Undesirable bacterial activity within the milk was a fault of the conditions and cooling rather than of fodder although of course there could be no definite demarcation between the two. Practically any feed would cause trouble if a little commonsense was not used in the feeding. A sudden change from any one feed to another would throw the digestive system of any anb mal temporarily off its balance : and so cause trouble. That was frequently marked in the spring, P' 3rt i c* eood spring following a long spell oi adverX weather. Under those conditions a sudden growth of rye would be made and immediately a feed flavour was n AjTeffort might be made to counteract that in several directions, the chief of which was probably in the. system * of top-dressing. In the pastquickly. acting fertilisers were applied inunediately prior to the spring growth, existing that were they applied than that much of their good would be lost. Providing lime was occasionally used with the super there was practically no leaching of the super. That application just prior to the first growth in the spring intensified that growth and gave trouble, whereas an earlier application say in April or May, would encour«rll« g . r 7‘ h ,°L'S,‘ steady the peak period of growth. NITROGENOUS MANURES. The use of nitrogenous manures for srowth .ot rye bad to commend it in this respect. Of course whatever the manuring system was there come seasons when the best plans wen astray and they had a sudden rush ot rye. Other methods must then be adegted to combat the taint trouble. The feeding of hay (which the stock would probably not eat) prior to the ! he cows into the new paddock might be tried, as a belly full of hay before a fill of any taintor wHI often teract the trouble, but possibly the on.and off” system of grazmg would to be the best. This consisted of allowmg the herd access to the new P add f c^ r an hour or two immediately after milk ing, with a return to the last paddock grazed following this. Besides minimising taint dangers it would be found that with this system a paddock would be well cleaned up, because after a bite of

new grass the stock relish a little rougher feed. There was a little trouble certainly in shifting the cows so frequently but with that l-8d per lb touching the pocket for second grade milk they would probably find this trouble now well worth while. Inland districts, with a later spring, would probably not be troubled so much with this cause of taint.

During the autumn in some districts and under certain conditions the clover growth became excessive and this growth would cause trouble just as the quick rye growth in the spring would. Trefoil (or buckling clover) was prone to do this, although other clovers would also have an ill effect The precautions outlined for spring trouble also applied here. The growing of such supplementary fodder crops as turnips,, swedes, chou moellier and rape, for feeding at various season? of the milking season was common in many districts, and it was with these crops that care had to be exercised. If these crops were fed judiciously there should be absolutely no trouble, but careless feeding in many cases had given these crops a bad name. Where thfe crops were carted out to the stock, which system was far from the most economical where the labour was available, the quantity fed was often limited to such an extenit' that little trouble occurred, and the feeding out was done early in the morning and well away from the evening milking. It was a wise safeguard, where the paddockswere available, to feed out 24 hours ahead of the stock, thereby/allowing the crop to wilt before it was consumed. Where the herd was to be turned in on a crop to graze this should be done straight after milking and the stock then removed and given a liberal ration of hay. Hay prior to the feeding of the crop was preferable, but the cows when they knew they were to be turned on to the crop would hang round waiting rather than feed on the hay and so undue delay was caused and the time between feeding of the crop and the evening milking was reduced. SWAMPY CORNERS. A common source of trouble was to be found in swampy corners and other wet places within the paddock, and frequently in the summer, with the drinking water. In these wet places would nearly always be found growths of various description, such as water-cress, various swamp grasses etc., upon which the cattle would be prone to graze in the summer and which would almost invariably cause taint These places if they could not be drained and brought Into good pasture should be fenced off and if possible planted for shelter.. Sometimes these swamps were required for watering, but id per lb over several, seasons would pay for an extensive watering system. They should pay particular heed to these waste comers for frequently they, with their weed growths ,were the cause of trouble. “Lastly we come to a fodder that is under a deep cloud of suspicion, but which is actually not nearly so likely to cause trouble as rye, trefoil, swedes, turnips or swamp growth,” continued Mr. Smith. “Silage is the fodder referred to, and on account of its sometimes strong, and to some, objectionable odour it has been suspected and shadowed but not yet arrested. Of course on account of its strong odour it behoves us to be more careful with it as far as its proximity to standing milk is concerned, but proper silage fed judiciously will never be asked to stand its trial in any court. “Naturally if silage is made from a natural taintor it will retain its tainting characteristics, but the type of silage as recommended by the department—the slightly sour greenish-golden type, or in other words the silage that resembles most the growing crop—does not taint milk if the usual precautions are made. The matter of external contamination as dealt with earlier applies more perhaps to silage than to any other fodder. It should not be fed in close proximity to the shed or stand, the vehicle used for feeding out should be cleaned after feeding out and left away from the milk stand, that is if the same vehicle is used to cart the milk with. The person handling the silage and doing the milking should look to his own personal cleanliness also, as his clothes, etc., are probably teeming with silage bacteria, and if these are of an undesirable type, as happen* with certain undesirable standards of silage, and they gain access to the milk trouble will probably ensue. Another point in feeding out is to feed out just sufficient silage for the cows to clean up; ■ occasionally one sees silage lying around the paddock with the cows lying on it, and these cattle then come into the shed—a potential source of contamination. The danger of the taint from good silage is not as great as that from turnips or even young rye, yet one does not hear rye condemned as a fodder for milking cows. ■ AMERICAN EXPERIMENT. “In a trial conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture the results bear out the contentions of this paper very largely, particularly in respad to feeding immediately after milicing with any fodder liable to taint. Ten Jerseys and ten Freisian cows were put under the test, the same cows going though all tests at various stages. These were fed on soft turnips at varioi zs periods between milkings and the milk was subjected to rigid grading by qualified graders. “The groups of cows were: One group was given 151 b one hour before milking, another 301 b one hour before milking and the last group 301 b immediately after milking. Milk samples from the individual cows were taken and were cooled but not aerated. The classificatioii used was ‘normal,’ ‘very slightly off,’ 'slightly off’ and ‘off,’ and tests were.

made for both flavour and odour. A check test was made before feeding was started and resulted:— . Flavour Odour

This demonstrates quite clearly how taint of this nature can be largely eliminated by judicious feeding.

Per cent Per cent Normal • • 97.5 94.0 Very slightly off .. 2.5 6.0 Slightly off ... 0.0 0.0 Off ................... 0.0 0:0 ■ The effect of feeding before milking' was:— 151b one hour Normal 30.7 24.8 Very slightly off ... 29.1 30.3 Slightly off 27.2 23.9 - Off ...... 13.0 15.0 The effect of feeding 301b one hc-.;r before milking was: — Normal ..;.......... 0:7 ■ 4.3 " Very slightly off .... 25.8 18.7 Slightly off 33.3 37;5 ' Off 34.2 39.6 ■ On the other hand, where feeding was carried out immediately after ' milking there was not a great deal of from the check test: — difference Normal 87.9 C4.5 Very slightly off ... 6.9 8.6 Slightly off 4.3 5.2 Off .9 1.7