Dairying.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 12970, 25 September 1905, Page 3

Dairying.

PAPER f BY THE COMMISSIONER.

HINTS TO PEODUCERS.

(JTrom Our Parliamentary Reporter.) "Wellington, September 24. Attached to the report of the Agricultural Department is a paper by the Dairy Commissioner on the dairying division for 1904-5. He remarks :— "What is needed mo^L is cheaper production. This can be brought about by educating the farmer and dairyman to the importance of better breeding, more housing, and better feeding of their dairy cattle. "The all-important question of footling in winter receives little or no thought or attention in the colony. In my opinion this is a matter of the utmost importance, and it should be carefully studied by farmers. ■ "The testing of the herds is another matter which 1 have > constantly brought before the notice of our dairyjmen. The testing of individual 'cowa . for the purpose of weeding out the ( unprofitable ones is, I am sure, the keynote to more successful and more profitable dairying in this colony, '.'he Lime has arrived when the farmer cannot afford to harbour on his premises what Governor Hoard, of Wisconsin, in the United States of America calls 'the robber cow.' The oow that does not turn over a profit after do ducting the cost of feeding and labour should be dispensed with. Unfortunately, too many of this class of dairy yow are milked in New Zealand, and until thet farmer >vakes up to vhe fact ■that with high-priced land and expensive labour only first-class animals should be kept the cost of production will not be greatly lessened, or, in other words, the profits to each individual dairyman on the T urnover from his herd will not be as great as they should be. "The question of building silos, the growing of corn- and other grsen feed for ensilage purposes, should bo taken up at- the experimental farms, where practical demonstrations on the making and curing of ensilage, the proper housing and feeding of dairy caiile, and thr cureful testing of individual tows by moans of the Babcock test should be carried out. "The absence of a dairy jxpocimental station is still being keenly felt by the dairying division. -°he various combined scientific and practical investigations which the •Jovorumont Bacteriologist and myself have undertaken have had to be abanrliuod on account of not having had yn institution, together with the necessary appliances and the raw material, to enable these experiments to be tarried out on bulk -butter and cream. It is to be hoped, however, that in the near future the necessary machinery will be supplied by the Govormwnt, so that the important work Cfii be carried on in an exhaustive uiauaer.

"I am more than ever anxious to assist the producers in placing our dairy industry in a position which will enable us to compete suceosssiully against the producers of other countries, where all that both science u-ud practical kuowledge' can do is being applied. Moreover, after visiting these countries, I am convinced tnat we have arrived at a stage it which it is impossible to improve ;he situation to any appreciable extent by practical instruction only ; in other words, thc^ work which we are doing with our hands must be combined j with scientific' investigation and compulsory and systematic inspection of dairies in order to improve our hulk supply, or rather the raw material before it arrives at the factories. "Although at the coinmyuc-aucJit oti the season it was anticipated that, the value of our exports wouM roach the two million mark, the eitjtr.fcAie

conditions which prevailed w times ( throughout the colony mainly recounted for our not reaching this . estimation. Notwithstanding this foci it is gratifying to be able to record a substantial increase in the v quantity of dairy produce exported. The total weight of butter «KDort<?:l between the Ist April, 1901, and the 31st March, 1905, was 332,240cwt, being an increase over that «»f the previous year of 14,718cwt. 'he \ aluc of this season's exports of butter is £1,661,200. ■ There was a slight in-* crease (1642cwt) in the quantity of cheese exported' this season ; 86,020 cwt left the colony, valued at £217,300. The total exports of butter and cheese iov the year amounted to £i,191,160c\vt, valued at £1,878,500, being an increase over the previous year of 16,360cwt, valued at £99,733. "The period under review has afforded another practical lesson to many of the dairy farmers of New Zealand as regards the provision of some extra feed and shelter for their oaitlo at a time when there is a shortage of grass, and when the weather is unsca 1 sonable. "Only a few connplaints have be?n received with reference to the quality of the New Zealand butter on the

British markets for the past year. Several of the complaints have, however, been made against those which ihave been considered good brands of butter ; that is to say, butter which left the colony in apparently good condition, and, so far as judgment at this end was concerned, sound in .quality. The cause of deterioration in such butters has doubtless been owing in most ca§es to inferior milk, due to j carelessy handling on the fawns, and not to faxilts in the manufacture of the butter,} nor is it, in my opinion, attributable^ to < anj' lack/ of care in handling and freezing the butter in .'the colony or during transit to the Home markets. On receipt of information by cable from London that the quality of these butters was not giving satisfaction to buyers, steps were immediately; taken by this Division to ; investigate the cases, and, if possible, to effect a remedy. For this purpose one of the. instructors was deputed to visit such factories at once to make a thorough investigation and inspection of all' the appliances and, utensils used, and to examine the milk supply, to look into the question at the quality of the starter used in ripening the cream, and the methods of manufacture generally ; also to ad vise the factory manager on all points which mighfr lead to improvement.

When' it was found necessary the in-] structor also visited the farms, . and ] gave advice regarding the handling and proper care of the milk, the im- I portance of cleanliness of utensils, etc. This 'latter was generally followed by a noticeable improvement in the quality, and it is needless to say that it was greatly appreciated by the directors and shareholders interested. "Prices throughout the season have been very . satisfactory 5 .in fact the value of New Zealand ibutter on the Bi ilish markets for the latter part *al the season has been quite phenomenal, being from 10s to 12s per hundredweight higher than for the corresponding period of last year. The higher price ruling is ascribed to the shortage of supplies on the Continent, and partly to the Siberian butter trade beings in£er,f,ere.d_. .with on account of hostilities . between Russia and Japan. Prices of cheese have been firm, and advancing all tho season, and have proved .satisfactory to buyers' and sellers alike. Although the prospects in the early spring were lot too promising, the dairy companies wkich at the commencement of Lho export season decided to ship their produce on consignment, will, it is considered, this, year net higher irices than those who sold their outputs outright in the colony. This was not usually the case in former years.' From the information I have at ,my ilisposal it would appear that there s a tendency amongst the dairy companies to sell their outputs at a fixad price in the oblony, and thereby avoid any risk of a drop in the market price. A number of the companies will

however, continue to transact their business on a consignment basis. . "Thoso who are actively engaged in the industry are to be congratulated," says the Commissioner, "on the success of their' business, which bids fair to continue a profitable one in the future."