Farm and Garden.

Waipa Post, Volume VIII, Issue 345, 1 September 1914, Page 8

Farm and Garden.

BUTTER V. CHEESE. In dealing with the question of cheese versus butter-making, the following summary of conclusions were given by the chairman ot directions at the recent annual meeting of the New Zealand Dairy Association The popular idea is that for some little time cheese has paid rather better than butter has done. Farmers and others who have talked in favour of cheese, appear by their talk to think very little of the value of the skim-milk by-pro-duct in butter making, while others value it highly, and appear to give good reasons therefore. On the other hand, the value of fortified whey is a factor which is not to be left out of sight. It has been demonstrated that, everything considered the difference between butter and cheese for the previous year has been a neglible quantity. Possible given similarly favourable conditions of manufacture for both, it was in favour of butter. For a cycle of say five years this was certainly so. The main reason for the belief that cheese is going to pay better than butter is that Canada’s supply 'has fallen off or has been diverted away from the English market. A whole book might be written on this subject, but you will be satisfied with a brief recital of the latest figures of the general imports into Great Britain for the year ending June lßth, 1914. Up to that date the imports in hundredweights of cheese into the United Kingdom for the preceding four years were:—l9ll, 783,443; 1912, 734.272; 1913, 816,395; 1914. 897,337For the sake of comparison I repeat, the figures showing the imports of butter for the same periods:—l9ll, 2,233,328; 1912, 1,916,182; 1913, 1,938,666; 1914, 2,054,270. These statistics are supplied by Messrs R. and W. Davidson, of Glasgow, in the market report dated June 2lst, 1914. It will be seen that the imports of cheese have increased by 14% per cent and the imports of butter have decreased by 8 per cent. Without troubling to analyse the countries of origin, the easy conclusion is that for these years cheese has been an increasing quantity and butter a diminishing one. In my judgment the prospects for the future, even the very near future, are that the cheese supply will continue to increase and the butter to diminish, with the result that prices for butter will improve by comparison with cheese. The general belief, however it has arisen, that there is going to be more money in cheese than in butter will continue to operate, as it has always operated, in causing butter-making to be neglected and more cheese to be manufactured. South of the Auckland province this change has practically taken place. Even the Waikato has been invaded, and money is to be spent upon dual plants with the object of preparing to manufacture cheese or butter as may appear best. Last season New Zealand exports of cheese exceeded in value her butter exports. I bear in mind that New Zealand is not singular in turning her attention to cheese. We must remember that Canada is by no means yet out of the market. Then Australia is beginning to manufacture, and its product was commended last year; while Siberia is coming upon the cheese market in a surprising manner. I understand that a score or more of Siberian butter districts have this year switched on to cheese, and, on the whole, given good cheesemakers, that country is better suited for making cheese than for making butter. You will not forget the definite swing which has taken place in New Zealand towards abandoning butter-mak-ing for cheese production. My conclusions are that cheese is going to be made in plenty during the next two, three or four years.

Another point for consideration is that the cheese consuming population of the world is small by comparison with the butter eaters. The cheese eaters are estimated to number 45,000,000 of people, while the estimated number of consumers of butter is over 250,000,000.