Cream Grading

Waikato Argus, Volume XXXV, Issue 5626, 4 June 1914, Page 4

Cream Grading

Cream grading has received so little attention in New Zealand that anything written on the subject must necessarily deal with the need foi its adoption rather than with what has already been done, and we must confess to being behind other countries in the matter, ljuite sufficient has been done on these lines, however, to show the benefits of grading, and the good results attained where the work has been token up prove the necessity of its more general adoption. The success which has followed the introduction of cheap butter substitutes, such as come into competition with low-grade butter, proves conclusively that only the highest quality can hope to hold its own, and the experience of factories that have had second grades to dispose of this autumn, even in our own local markets, has been that poor quality is not wanted. The increased interest which has been displaved by factory directors, proprietors, and managers during the past season in the improvement of the quality of the cream delivered to our factories stems to show that the present time is opportune to consider whether or not united action should bo taken in this matter. The dirty supplier is undoubtedly the weak spot in the dairy business today, and there is a feeling amongst those whose interests are involved that he has benefited long enough at the expense of bis more cleanly neighbour.

11l the p'ist practically the whole of our efforts have been spent in endeavouring to discover efficient means of lemoving from cream defects which should not have been there at all, and no expense nas been spared, generally speaking, in providing the necessary machinery for this purpose. It must be admitted that we have been starting at the wrong end, and we should remember the saying that "It is wiser to erect a fence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom." Butter-making under present conditions practically resolves itselt into a system of getting rid of bad flavours rather than developing a desirable one. No one who has had an opportunity of examining the cream received at the average home-separa-tion factory could fail to be struck with the great variation that exists in the condition in which it arrives, and that all should be paid for at the same rate is wrong in principle and f unjust to the careful supplier. So long as this system is followed, we shall continue to he faced with the problem of the dirty, careless supplier, and the general tendency will be towards a lower standard as time goes on. It s not claimed that grading will do away with the careless supplier, but it will tend to keep him up to the mark and encourage the careful man to do better. That the majority of suppliers are anxious to supply good cream is admitted, but under the pooling sy*tem they get every encouragement to drop to the lower level, and although many defects in the cream may be the result of ignorance, the fact that it will be paid for according to its condition will make suppliers more anxious to learn, and cause them to take greater interest in the r work.

Take the following instance of two lots of cream received on the same platform, conditions in each case being similar as regards age, distance of farm from factory, etc. The first lot was clean in flavour, smooth in texture, and showing .15 per cent, in acid. The second was stale in flavour, and showing .70 per cent, of acid. It may be as well to explain the value of these two creams to the butter-maker, as many suppliers have an idea that by the use of soda to neutralise the acid and pasteurisation afterwards, an equally good butter can be made from either. The butter-maker's position is this: With the lirst cream he will not require to use any soda, will be able to pasteurise at a fairly low temperature, and by the use of a clean starter will have a chance of making a clean flavoured, sound-keeping butter. With the second he will have to add so much soda to reduce the acidity that he w'll run the risk of getting a soda flavour in his butter, cr else will have to pasteurise at a high temperature, and risk getting a burnt flavour He will also have tp cool the cream so rapidly to prevent the development of the bad flavours checked by the pasteuriser that a starter will have little chance of doing any good. While the use of soda will reduce the acidity, and by means of pasteurising a fair butter can be made from such cream, it is idle to argue that it will have the same keeping quality as would a butler made from good, sound cream. Many factories have an idea that

dairy farm inspection is the remedy for all the evils that bring about poor quality, but anyone who has done much of this work soon comes to the conclusion that inspection without any system of classification on the factory platform is of very little use. You may inspect the farm of a certain class of supplier once a week, and compel him to provide elaborate premises, but vou cannot make hi in clean. The clean supplier, on the other hand, will do all that is asked, but wants to know what benefit be is going to derive if his careless neighbour is paid the same price for his butter-fat. The condition of [the cream received from a farm depends more on the cleanliness of the milking and the utensils and the care it receives after separating than it does on the style of building in which it is produced. Inspection and instruction on the farm, followed by grading of the cream on the factory plat form on much the same lines as are followed in grading butter and cheese, seem to offer the best solution. Obviously, if you are going to pay for cream according to its condition, every assistance possible should be given the supplier to remedy defects tha'. may be complained of. Home factories return all cream to the owners which does not reach a certain aUndard. That ia all righ

By GEO. M. VALENTINE.

from the butter-maker's point of view, but it is a serious loss to the suppliers, ami frequently causes serious friction. A fine, in the shape of a lower price, would probably have the same effect without proving so severe. Some factories are so placed that cream returned to the suppliers will not reach the owner for four days, and on this account some very inferior quality is accepted. 11 the same price is paid for it as for sound cream, the supplier is thereby encouraged to neglect caring for the article.

The case for grading rests on the fact that most of the defects found in cream are preventable, and that crearii which has been properly handled on the farm will reach the factory in first-grade order unless the conditions of transit are such as should never be attempted. The first objection to the adoption of grading is usually that dissension will be caused amongst the suppliers, and thereby loss of business will result. It is quite recognised that unless factories are loyal to one another any attempt to improve quality must prove a failure. Speaking of the North Auckland district, no serious difficulty is anticipated on this score, and there is no reason why the same spirit should not pievail elsewhere, if the best interests of the suppliers are to be considered.

Another objection to grading is that it will make trouble for the managers. This may be so at the first, but by thoroughly explaining to suppliers the reasons for the grading and by fixing a reasonable standard to begin with, and showing every willingness to assist them to remove any defects in the cream, a feeling of confidence should soon be established. To start out and condemn a large proportion of the cream received at a factory would be fatal, but by starting on" the worst quality and gradually bringing up the standard no serious trouble need be anticipated. Then, other objections are: 1. That it will result in a large proportion of second-grade butter being made.—This has not proved the case with those factories which have been grading for any length of time, as they can show almost a clean sheet so far as second-grade butter is concerned, 2. That a factory with a small supply cannot afford to make distinctions.- In this connection 1 may say that 1 have seen 301b of cream, worth 12s Gil, reduce the quality or the next day's make of GOOlb of butter to second-grade. This, at id per lb, amounts to a loss of 25s to the factory. ;i. That it will unjustly penalise the supplier who is u distance from the factory.—With regard to this, many suppliers have an idea that all cream which is sour would be second-grade. Practically all cream except that delivered daily is sour when it leaves the farm, and the flavour which the supplier calls sour is known to the butter-maker as unclean. Good sound cream will stand a lot of travelling under reasonable conditions without developing bad tlavqurs, and the difference between cream brought ten miles and that brought fifteen miles is very small.

4. That ii a factory is making first-grade butter there is no need to worry.--Where this attitude is adopted by a factory, the cream must gradually deteriorate in quality, and though a fair class of butter may be made during the Mush of the season, experience proves that the proportion of second-grade butter made during the spring and autumn is very much greater than where a higher standard is aimed at. Had all our factory managers taken this stand, the dairy industry would never nave reached its present dimensions, for the factory that is not out for improvement will soon lind itself going back.

Under the system of grading in ust in New Zealand today, the work is carried out by the manager or a competent assistant, the condition of each can of cream being noted separately, so that one bad can does not condemn the lot. Any .supplier whose cream has been placed secondgrade is immediately notified by the placing of a printed .slip into his returned can,so that he may look into the cause and ell'ect a remedy. The system of working is not altogether the same as in butter-grading, as the conditions are not exactly similar in both cases. The quality of the cream is decided by taste and smell, but while the butter-grader is dealing with the finished article, the cream-grader has to use his judgment as to whether a particular flavour will be detrimental to the butter when made.

Usually only two grades of cream are dealt with in New Zealand, viz., first and second. Both are mixed in the manufacturing process, so that only one quality of butter is made. This may not he the ideal system, but it works out well in practice, and has the advantage of putting the careless supplier in his right place, and avoiding the necessity of installing extra plant to deal with two qualities. Under this system cream is classified as follows: First grade is cream not necessarily sweet but clean in flavour, of smooth texture and containing not less than 35 per cent, of fat. Second grade is cream which, if churned by itself, would make a second grade butter, but may he mixed with the day's make without risk of getting second grade for the lot; or is cteam which contains less than 35 per cent, of fat. Third grade is cream of unclean flavour, which if mixed witii the day's make will cause the quality to drop below first grade. Tins cream is usually returned to the owner, as there is seldom more than a can or two of it on any one day where grading is practised. In some cases where the quantity warrants it a separate churning is made, and the butter disposed of as secondary quality.

Strictly speaking, a first grade

cream is one from which a first grade butter can be made, but on first taking up grading a certain amount of latitude would probably be necessary in order to avoid friction. Thus in a district where roads are bad and suppliers new to the business, a cream may be accepted as fust grade which would not be passed as such later on when conditions improved. The aim of every factory should be to turn out the very best article that circumstances will allow without undue hardship to the supplier. Where this rule is followed—as, for instance, where a daily delivery is insisted upon—the standard will be higher ami will be set to a great extent by the suppliers themselves. Where the majority, under aveiagu conditions, are able to send in a high grade cream, it is only fair to require that this standard shall be reached by all. A difference of a id per lb of butter fat is usually made between first and second grade, and the same between second and third. This is rather less difference than is made in Australia, where from Ad to Id lower price is paid for second, and up to 2d less for third grade. American dairy papers show their price to be as much as 2d lower for second grade and another 2d lower for third grade.

This is a point about which there will probably be a considerable difference of opinion and it is one which will no doubt be decided by each individual factory according to the circumstances in which they find themselves placed. With the more general adoption of the grading system the standard of quality of the cream received will be very considerably raised and the difference between first and second quality will be very marked. It may not be possible at the commencement for each company to adopt a differentiation in price which will represent actual difference in value to the factory and also penalise the careless supplier for general damages to the company's output. This should be the object aimed at and at least a penny to a penny halfpenny of difference will have to be made to include this. This may lie accomplished by deducting u penny on general quality together with a further halfpenny of the average per cent, of fat for the period below a minimum of, say. 35 per cent. At the present stage the point aimed at is the recognition of the principle that the manager shall have power to penalise the careless supplier. The grading should be adopted with a small penalty to begin with if necessary, but the larger difference made in other countries shows that it has been necessary to increase as time elapsed. The sum decided upon will have to depend on the determination and enthusiasm of the suppliers to maintain a high standard. From the factory manager's point of view, eieam grading has everything to recommend it, as it is the only way whereby he can hope to improve the quality of the raw material upon which he has to depend for his success as a buttermaker. Some managers have instructions to accept, all cream irrespective of its condition (no difference beng made in price), and it is not to be wondered at if they soon lose interest in their work and conclude that it is useless to try and maintain their quality. It naturally follows that if the manager gets lax, the suppliers very soon follow suit. Leaving out the question of the extra value of high grade butter, experience proves that only those factories which aim at a choice quality succeed in getting the whole of their outputs into first grade. The following figures taken from the log book of a factory which has been grading for three years will give some idea of the condition of

trie cream received. 1 tie whole 01 this cream was two and three days old:

This is in marked contrast to those factories where u flat rate is paid, and where the cream may lie ns high as .50, .(JO or .70 in acidity on arrival, necessitating the use of as much soda as (ill) to the hundred gallons of cream. Although acidity alone is not to be relied on as indicating the condition of cream, yet the same care which prevents the development of acid will also check the growth of undesirable flavours. The supplier will naturally ask how these results are attained, and the answer is. by cleanliness and cooling and by skimming a cream containing about *lO per cent, of butter fat. Clean milking, clean utensils and proper care of the cream after separation constitute all that is necessary. buckets with a yellow deposit of stale milk, separators washed only once a day, and then only in cold water, and badly ventilated, dirty separating rooms in which the cream is held, are the chief causes of bad quality. Hot and cold cream should never be mixed, and for preference each skimming should be kept by itself until ready to be sent to the factory. A clean vessel should always lie used to tateh the cream from each skimming. A bucket used for this purpose in the morning is not lit for use again at night without proper washing. Run the cream over a cooler as it leaves the separator,.then place it in cold water and stir frequently with a metal plunger. If water is not available, a small shelter should be provided. This need only be big enough to hold the number of cans sent to the factory each trip, and should stand well up off the ground. The floor and walls should be of ;>in battens placed half an inch apart. Build the shelter under tree right away from the shed or any other smell.

A. CKtfity Lb. Acidity Date. ( lals.of 011 soda on :reatu arrival, used, redu'd to Sept. 16. .. 130 .20 — — 30 .. 277 ■17 — — Oct. 13 .. 1^5 .2") I 'z •17 ,, 27. .. 223 .14 — Nov. 10, , 290 •25 iVz ■'■I ,, 2-1 .. 220 7 V2 13 Pec. 8 •■ 335 •34 10,'i .10 ,, 22. • • 237 .29 0 •IS Jan. 7- .. 209 29 4 .15 23 •• 195 ■36 VA IS Feb. 7. .. 206 •33 M 13 i, 21. ■ ■ 105 It 5 V ■17 Mar. III. • 233 ■34 3 .1; ,, Sl- . 192 .21 1': •IS April io .. 240 •36 2' 2 10