STATE’S PRACTICAL ASSISTANCE

Taranaki Daily News, 11 September 1934, Page 20 (Supplement)

STATE’S PRACTICAL ASSISTANCE

ATMS OF THE DAIRY DIVISION CO-OPERATION WITH THE INDUSTRY >' The information contained in this and subsequent articles has been supplied by the director of the dairy division of the Department of Agriculture, Mr. W. M. Singleton. He states : “Forty years takes us back to 1894, the year of the passing of the second Dairy Industry Act, the first Act having come into force two years earlier—lB92. The 1894 Act marked a true starting point of dairying progress in New Zealand. It was indeed comprehensive, but its general aim has been to ensure the manufacture of ; dairy products in reasonably good surroundings from pure milk or cream; to provide for efficient packages and honest branding.and grading; and to safeguard the buyer and consumer‘to the extent that when purchasing New Zealand dairy products he will receive foods which are not adulterated and which comply with the legal requirements of the importing countries, and more particularly with those of the United King“The first four cool stores were those at Auckland, Wellington, Lyttelton and Port Chalmers, the officers appointed to carry out the grading at those ports being Messrs. Busch,-Thornton, McWilliam and Lang respectively.- The first graded dairy produce to be exported was a shipment of butter which left New Zealand on December 13, 1894. Grading of cheese was not commenced until the 1899-1900 season. “Forty years embraces a large slice in the history of an industry which was not firmly on its feet until the beginning of the and so much has been done or attempted in that space of time that it would take a moderate sized volume to cover the subject at all adequately. The Dairy Division has been bound up so closely in the whole movement that the history of the Division during that period under review is, broadly speaking, the history of the manufacturing side of the industry. Summed up, the aim of the Division has been to bring about and competently to administer helpful legislation covering all branches of the industry; to instruct rather than to inspect; to advise and to guide rather than to drive; and to obtain high efficiency at reasonable expenditure. “In a brief survey all that can be done is to tabulate, as it were, the main chapter headings and to show how wide and farreaching have been the activities of the Government in regard to the Dairy Industry of this Dominion. In contemplating the period it is apparent that almost every year was marked by some development of importance, but the impression which one retains most clearly is that of progress, and a noticeable absence of serious mistakes.”

DIFFICULTIES OVERCOME

PROGRESS IN MANUFACTURE EXPERIMENTS IN PAST YEARS. The first , three-years after the passing of the Dairy Industry Act, 1894, were strenuous days for the Dairy Division. It had to organise its staff, advise and assist dairy organisations that were Springing up in every direction as land settlement proceeded. Moreover in many cases farms and factories were in a very primitive state and manufacture had to be performed under conditions that would seem very crude to-day. But the need for progress led to fresh methods being tried and Mr. Singleton writes: — . “The year 1897 is notable for the experiments conducted by the Division at Waverley in connection with the pasteurising of cream. It was also the year of the introduction of home separation of cream, although it was not the Government but a private firm which made the first step in this direction. As a matter of fact, there was a strong difference of opinion on the subject, even among the dairy experts, the majority of whom were opposed to the system. It is to the credit of the Division, however, that when a few years later they were convinced of the advantages of home separation in New Zealand they gave the movement their whole-hearted support, and, moreover, in a comparatively short space of time helped to make it the admiration of the world. "In 1901 the Division began to pay closer attention to the moisture content of butter and a number of tests .were carried out in Taranaki by Mr. B. C. Aston, chief chemist to the department. “During 1908 greater attention was paid by the Division to the question of over-run in buttermaking, and experiments were conducted at Mangatoki, Whenuakura, Okoia and Kaitaia. The fact that the'results averaged 12.22 enablesan interesting comparison with the average over-run of to-day. Two years later whey butter experimepts were carried out at Kaponga.”

“The year 1913 stands out in the memory as the year in which one of the really serious troubles of the industry was brought to an end—the problem of fishy butter. This defect had been slightly in evidence for several seasons and in 1912-13 reached a really disturbing stage, causing much worry to managers of butter factories as well as to officers of the Division. In 1913, however, Mr. J. Pedersen conducted a number of experiments at the Konini dairy factory and was successful in discovering the cause of the trouble. The defect was found to be due to over-acidity.”

Since then there has been continuous experiment and inquiry into various details of manufacture. Those engaged in the industry know how serious sdme of them have proved, and they know also the great help afforded in their elimination by the officers of the Dairy Division. As Mr. Singleton says:—“A long series of important items could be collected under the general caption of ‘State Assistance in regard to Manufacture.’ There is not a day that the Division’s instructors are not in- some dairy factory or another assisting to solve minor and occasionally major difficulties and generally contributing to the smooth running of this huge industry. “From the administrative side the Dairy Industry Act and the Dairy Produce general regulations cover an enormous field, embracing, as they do, every phase of the industry. The. Division, however, has been fortunate in that it has always received the sympathetic support of the great majority of workers in the industry, and it is only fair to say that without such support efficient administration would have been a well-nigh impossible task. All that has been attempted in this article is to show that right from the commencement the Division has endeavoured to provide [ helpful advice and practical assistance and, as it were, to keep an eye on every branch of the industry, and that there are many branches there is no need to stress. “A word or two may be said about the

financial side. The salaries and expenses of dairy instructors are and always have been paid from the consolidated fund. In the earlier years all grading and cold storage charges were paid by the Government. The laboratory service at Wallaceville .is • rendered without charge and apart from experimental and investigational work embraces such important subjects as examination of dairy factory water supply, starters, etc. The Division’s officers give advice, on the selection of sites for dairy factories, the formation of the company, the construction, of the factory and the selection and arrangement of plant. Moreover, until comparatively recent years the Division considered it a duty to keep abreast of the times in the matter of factory, design, and many if not most of the earlier factories were built to plans supplied by the Division.

“Other activities include special attention to the design and erection of milking machines, as well as to their care and cleaning, this latter including the supply of boiling water on the farms for washing purposes. “In conclusion it should be recorded that the great majority of our dairy companies have always shown a progressive spirit not only in their own behalf but at the suggestion of the Division, and have never been backward in trying out new appliances or methods which had the- Division’s approval.”