TO AID THE PRODUCER

Taranaki Daily News, 22 June 1935, Page 16 (Supplement)

TO AID THE PRODUCER

SCIENCE IN / DAIRYING ON FARM AND IN FACTORY. CHEESE PRODUCTION STANDARD. . ADDRESS GIVEN BY MR' P. O. VEALE “Science in Dairying” was the title of an address , given by Mr. P. O. Veale, scientist in- charge of the Hawera laboratory, to a meeting of the Awatuna Farmers’ Union ,bn Thursday." The speaker treated the subject under the four headings of farm operations in general, milk production and quality, animal health, and manufacturing. Mr. Veale dealt first with soil management and the use of and said ' it had been a common idea that it waspossible to analyse soil and determine the elements of plant food required. But soil analysis had not made rapid strides in showing how the elements were available as plant food and soils with adequate lime and phosphate content had . benefited by the application of manures containing such elements in a form more available as plant food.? Tests were being made by science to determine the amount of'each element - available as plant food and it might be feasible to have soil extracts taken so that the farmer would know more accurately what the soil needed. Science was making progress in this direction. The analysis of manures was another method whereby science could help the producer, said Mr. Veale. He mentioned the case of a farmer who had two offers cf. lime, one being Is a. tbn dearrts. It Was found by analysis that this had a content of 90 per cent. of 'f>ure lime,, whereas the cheaper sample "had only 60 per cent. The farmer would thus have lost 30 tons of’ pure lime on his purchase of 100 tons if he had taken the cheaper lot. PURITY- OF WATER SUPPLY.

~ The knowledge of the purity of the water Supply was of paramount importance to the farmer,-said Mr. Veale, who gave an instance of a farmer who was about to buy an expensive filter but for the ..scientific advice that- water from another source was perfectly pure. This saved him £lOO. Serious contamination of milk resulted from impure water, so it could be seen the producer had a definite interest'in the continuation of the work' of the laboratory. The analysis of stock foods was another valuable service that science could render the farmer, said Mr. Veale, Who mentioned- that analysis showed one Sample to contain a large proportion of sugar, but as the whey with which the meal was used also was rich in milk sugar it was doubtful if it was necessary to have added sugar in the dry matter. Another sample contained a, high proportion of protein, which was much better for mixing with the whey. Thus by means of science the farmer was assisted to purchase to best advantage. Speaking of milk production and quality, Mr. Veale pointed out that the scientist could determine the amount of infection in the air by means of culture plates which were exposed to the 31r and taken to the laboratory and developed. He had been able to show that certain localities possessed a high ratio of harmful bacteria. ‘ In one shed trouble, was traced to polluted water being used to cleanse the machines. A change of water altered the grade of the milk to first. RED FLECKS IN MILK.

In another instance red flecks in milk caused an examination to be made for mammitis, but this was not revealed by the-microscope to be present in extra proportions. Inspection finally showed a red growth in and around the milk stand and it was this bacteria that looked like harmless rust that was blown by the wind under certain conditions into the milk to cause contamination. After it was cleared away there was no further trouble. The farm- milk strainei- was another frequent cause of contamination. Mr. Veale quoted an instance where the strainer looked perfectly clean to the eye but under the microscope showed a condition of hopeless contamination, every aperture being blocked with slimy j elloiv matter. It took more powerful vision than the human eye to convince in some cases of bacterial infection.'

The value of microscopic inspection in locating contagious mammitis was stressed by'Mr. VOale, who said some of the worst cases showed little evidence to the naked eye. The frequent examination of milk for mammitis was a definite contribution science could make. In regard to stock remedies scientific examination had revealed the worthlessness or otherwise of tlje articles on the market. Mr. Veale gave an illustration of a certain remedy which analysis found to be of little use for the purpose specified. If it did no good in warding off disease the remedy sold certainly did no harm, but as a reSult of his investigation the farmer was saved the loss of much money. The manufacturing side was touched upon by Mr. Veale, who spoke of the value of science to the dairy industry, perhaps more in quiet and continuous work than that of a spectacular cleanup when things were “in a mess.” There were the possibilities of continuous losses in any factory, but it was far better to

the producer if factories could be kept in good health rather than made well after a bad sickness.

Mr. Veale mentioned various ways in which science could be of day-to-day assistance, such as in the grading of milk samples, bacteriological examination of water and materials and generally in nipping in the bud any losses that would affect the suppliers.

Milk examination was of little value unless acted upon by the management. Soon after his arrival in Taranaki Mr. Veale. said he was able to show the cause of a loss of hundreds of pounds to one dairy company. This was due to infection in the whey' tank and when the source of the trouble was removed the factory had no recurrence. In another case the water supply was pure but the chilled water tank was contaminated. From being at the bottom in grade the factory made a spectaculai’ change in quality and was soon at the top, which position it. had maintained ever since. A certain infected hose length was the cause of trouble in a further instance, but after discarding the hose and adopting other remedial measures the quality of the product was greatly (improved. „ SHORTAGE IN BUTTER. • A shortage in the amount of butter that should be made puzzled the authorities at another factory. The manager took every precaution but still there was a shortage and it was eventually found that the cream samples were kept carelessly and near a hot steam pipe. A certain amount of evaporation was caused, resulting in the butter-fat showing a higher test than it should have. On the tests credited to the suppliers the manufactured butter was seriously short, and suppliers were paid on a basis of butter-fat they never- brought to the factory. It was certainly profitable to make investigations off the beaten track. So important was scientific assistance to dairying that he had endeavoured to extend its scope to cheese factories, said Mr. Veale. This was more difficult than in regard to butter, because of the variation of casein and water content, which were often outside the control of thg cheese-maker. It could, therefore, not always be determined what ought to be the exact yield of cheese. But when there were scientific facilities for estimating the casein and measuring the quality of the milk it was possible to say what the production should be. In the laboratory it was possible to say how much butter-fat went into the cheese, not what ought to go in. According to the best factory practice an average of 93 per cent, of butter-fat went into the cheese. There was also a definite average of casein, and when this proportion was not there they were entitled to ask what became of it.

, RACE FOR YIELD. In the matter of moisture content it • often came to a race for yield, but cheese-makers knew of the foolishness of that course. Water percentage was not' a fixed amount, and if too much was a fault so was too little. One cheese might contain a higher percentage of moisture than another and bfe a firstclass cheese. Mr. Veale said he had set up standards of cheese production that could reasonably be expected, but certain exception had been taken to them and a recent Press article conveyed the impression of being a very learned account of practical management to which there could be no reply. This was a serious matter as far as producers were concerned, and even the dairy managers’ organisation regretted the state of the craft and the face that some of their fellows were not up to a standard of efficiency to justify their holding a “ticket.” A dairy company did not have to . pay a fixed price for its raw material, but it 'might pay a good deal less to suppliers'l than it ought to should there be unnecessary losses in manufacture. The manager who fought against the introdfletioh of science was like a man who objected to the introduction of an auditor to go through the books. Mr. Veale criticised the attitude of those who spoke of a loss of several hundreds of pounds of cheese in a ten-day period and yet did not take steps to find out the cause. The producer had a definite interest in having science assist industry. It was not a' question of spending more money, but of saving money. In reply to a question, Mr. Veale considered scientific examination would protect the manager who was obtaining the full production of cheese from the raw material, for it would dispel any suggestion that a manager should obtain a fictitious yield. It had been said that if managers did not obtain a certain yield they would not hold their positions. A regular scientific system would be a protection to a good man, but it would find out managers who were not getting the best out of the work. The race for yield had certainly been a curse.