DAIRY INDUSTRY.

Waikato Times, Volume 98, Issue 15313, 14 August 1923, Page 6

DAIRY INDUSTRY.

NEW ZEALAND TOPS WORLD

OUTPUT NEARLY DOUBLED.

FEATURES OF YEAR’S PROGRESS,

By Telegraph.—Special to Times. WELLINGTON, Monday. Pride of place as the greatest exporter -of butter-fat in the world is claimed for New Zealand by the Director-General of Agriculture, in -his annual report, which indicates that the output of dairy factories nearly doubled in the year under review. The last season has probably been unsurpassed for many years as one eminently suited to maximum growth of grass and maximum production of milk, says the annual report of the Dairy Division of the Department of Agriculture. An increased number -of cows, grazed under the most favourable conditions, has enabled the Dominion to manufacture for export roundly 66,000 tons of butter and 60,000 tons of cheese. The unprecedented increase in supply of milk and cream taxed the resources of many dairy factories. The tendency for some years had been to handle the increased supply in large factories rather than in more factories, -and, as a result, during the period between the financial years ending March, 1917, and March, 1923, the output of the average butter factory increased 142 per cent., and the output of Hie average cheese factory increased 43 per cent.

Quantities of butter and cheese forwarded to the grading stores for grading during the year 1922-23 were: —

Totals 1,343,146 1,201,329 Compared with the previous year, the butter forwarded for grading increased by 'half, but the -cheese figure was normal, Wellington and Bluff districts showing an increase over last year. Faults In Manufacture.

After dealing with the dairy produce export figures, which have already been published, the report states that, as Tegards flavour and miike, the butter quality -has been satisfactory, and gratifying reports have come to hand from the United Kingdom and America. The -grading of cream and farm dairy instruction have been responsible for much of the improvement. A good deal of difficulty has, however, been occasioned by dairy -companies manufacturing butter which occasionally contains a water content above the legal limit' of 16 per cent. When this became known in Great Britain, it led to -more testing -at the grading ports, and a number of boxes were prevented from being exported, which might -have led to trouble. Considerable quantities have been returned to the dairy companies for reworking; other butters have been reworked at owners' expense under the supervision of the Department. In three instances legal proceedings were taken, resulting in lines from £lO to £25. The range of percentage of salt in our salted butters is too wide, says the report, and in many cases too low. For the general trade not less than it or m-ore than 2 -per cent, of salt should be incorporated. With the moisture and salt -content more even, a more uniform fat content is assured.

Colour Faults In Cheese.

Belter quality cheese resulted from a comparatively cool season. There is improvement from practically every district, but some difficulty was experienced in connection with the colour. It would appear that some milks have a reducing effect on colour, which does not obtain with -other milks. Bacteriological work was done at the WalUceville Laboratory in connection with this trouble. The process of pasteurising milk for cheese-making continues to extend, and the factories that adopted the process have had the satisfaction of turning out cheese far superior in quality to those hitherto made by them from raw milk. Packages for butter and cheese have been made from timber that was too thin to ensure satisfactory. nailing, and breakages resulted. Considerable improvement has been effected f*>r this season, A number of cheese factories have adopted the method of wirebinding the centre of the cheese-crate as well as the ends. This strengthens the case very considerably, and it is to be hoped that the method will, sooner or later, be general. Three dairy factories were destroyed by fire during the season. Most of the new structures are to be of a permanent character, and in brick or conAdvertlslng New Zealand Butter.

The disparity in prices between Danish and New Zealand butters was very marked during the latter part of the previous financial year. The dissatisfaction which this was causing induced the importers to start an advertising campaign in the interests of oui butters. A fund was subscribed by the importers amounting to £3OO, which was supplemented by our Government, through the High Commissioner’s Office, to the extent of £250. When the campaign started the price of. Danish butler was some 45s ahead of that of New Zealand. In three months after the advertising started there was practically no difference between the prices of the two. It would be rash to slate that the change was entirely due lo the advertising, but the need of the comprehensive continuous advertising’ of New Zealand dairy products has been evidence.

Testing Purebrod Dairy Cows. The number of purebred dairy cows entered for certificate of record (semioflicial) testing evidences an upward trend from year to year. A year ago the fee for testing was changed from a flat rale of five guineas per cow lo ten guineas for the first and three guineas for each subsequent entry. It was thus hoped to make the revenue from this work more nearly meet expenditure by increasing the number of cows per breeder. The desired effect was attained Lo a marked degree. During the season under review the a\erage number of cows tested per testing breeder was 3.83. as compared with 2.01> for 1921-22. This year some 1000 rows are, or have been, under C.O.R. test, as against 810 last year. The number of proven purebred sires with butter-fat record backing drafted out inlo grade herds increases, and it is gratifying lo report that some of our most outlying districts arc included in the movement. Thus the C.O.R. testing is attaining one of its most important objects. The average yield of cows tested lias improved, and many outstanding individual records have" been authenticated, two cows having passed the 10001 b butter-fat ■mart.

Auckland .... Butter. cwt. 707,146 Cheese. cwt. 168,127 Gisborne 19,045 — New Plymouth 132,303 188,927 Patea 58,381 238,166 Wanganui .... 41,815 19,416 Wellington ... 252,429 312,350 Lyttelton .... 54,079 28,673 Timaru 12,301 11,358 Dunedin 1 38,397 43,426 Bluff 27,250 190,886