MASSEY COLLEGE STUDENTS’ TOUR

Taranaki Daily News, 16 October 1934, Page 6

MASSEY COLLEGE STUDENTS’ TOUR

The decision to allow a party of senior dairy farming students from Massey College to visit Taranaki and other parts of- the Dominion in which dairying is a specialised industry can be thoroughly commended. From the comments made by the students and published in the Daily News yesterday it is evident that the benefits of such visits will not be confined to the students only. Their criticism of Taranaki methods, particularly of milking sheds and of pig husbandry, will no doubt receive attention from those most concerned. There is no question but that much could be done in the direction of improving the raw supplies for the factory by better designed sheds, and particularly by insistence on means for cooling rapidly the milk or cream to be sent for manufacture. One of the experiments at the Dairy Institute where the visiting students are receiving instruction proved shat “non-acid” milk, of which complaints at one time were on the increase, can be almost eliminated if the milk containing the germ which sets up the “non-acid” condition is cooled without delay and kept cool until delivered at the factory. Of course to many dairy farmers structural improvements of milking sheds and the provision of cooling apparatus are but a counsel of perfection which they cannot adopt unless and until the necessary finance is available. That, however, is a matter outside the visit of the Massey College students. They are learners as well as critics, and it is satisfactory to see that in some respects they find conditions in Taranaki are progressive. The tribute paid to the general quality and conditions of the Taranaki dairy herds was deserved, though there are quite enough unsatisfactory herds to prevent any undue complacency. Nevertheless, whether in the shape of criticism or commendation, personal discussions between established farmers and those who are being trained to fill such positions in the future is all to the good. Farm husbandry is not a mere matter of mechanics, drudgery and economics. It is a history of experiment and progress, and for that the blending of new idea and older practice cannot be made too frequently.