GRADING OF CREAM.

Waikato Times, Volume 114, Issue 19017, 7 August 1933, Page 2

GRADING OF CREAM.

NEED FOR EXTREME CARE. ADDRESS BY MR D. HULL. An informal talk on cream grading was given to suppliers at the annual meeting of the Mokau Dairy’ Company by Mr D. Hull, of the Dairy Division staff. Mr Hull pointed out that 6i years ago dairy factories were giving the same price for a can of poop orea.m as .for a can of good cream, it was recognised that the ■ time had arrived when something must be done to improve. the quality of the raw material, and of course the resultant article. Cream grading originally was voluntary, starting 20 years ago in North Auckland and. having grown until fully 70 per cent, of the cream in the Dominion was being graded voluntarily. It was asked that the other 30 per cent, should be graded also, with the result that compulsory cream grading with differential payment had been introduced. . Cream grading had. given the producers of the country a strong grip on the quality of the raw material and therefore on the manufactured article. The premium of a halfpenny for finest had been the monetary inducement for the supplier to endeavour to supply the best article. The supplier of good cream deserved the best price. Prior to the introduction of cream grading with differential payment milk and cream to the value of £16,000,000 per annum were bought and sold without any premium for the careful man or penalty for the careless man. A Pleasing Fact. It was pleasing to note that the percentage of second grade cream over the whole of the Dominion was very low, Mr Hull said. Every cream grader had to be licensed and did his duty in an impersonal manner. Cream grading had certainly lifted the quality of the. produce. .Seven years ago the average of the butter through tho port of New Plymouth was 92.5; After the first year of cream grading the average had risen to 93.5. That improvement had been maintained yea” by year until for the 1931-32 season the average grading was 94 points. Mr Hull explained the various points that 'affected the quality of the cream. It ,was essential to have healthy cows and clean pastures, he said. There should be care in hand feeding. The shed and yards should be clean. The milking machines and separators ■should be well oared for and well washed twice a day with boiling water. Clean udders and teats were essential; plenty of water was preferable to a rag for cleaning them. Before a man started dairying the first essential was that he should have plenty of water and means for boiling ample supplies. Cooling of cream was necessary as oream left at blood heat bred plenty of bacteria. Cooling cream as it left the separator and before it entered the can was half insuring the cream for quality. After cooling, the cream should be taken away from the shed and kept in a cool place until it was taken to the factory.

Men who skimmed their oream were losing money, apart altogether from the loss of halfpenny per lb, by the fact that the oream would not keep .so well. Mr Hull favoured cream being skimmed up to 41 or 42 per cent. lie urged suppliers not to separate the milk of newly-calved cows until the milk had become normal. Pigs ought to be kept at least 50 yards from the shed, Mr Hull said. He urged farmers not to tolerate even for a day pigs running near the shed. All disinfectants of a carbolio base should be kept away from the shed-

Sellers, Not Buyers

Farmers should remember they were sellers o-f butter, not buyers, and that it was the British housewife who had the final grading and Anal judgment on the butter. She hacked her opinion with her shilling and it behoved the Industry to give her what she asked for —quality. Mr Hull explained the principle of grading butter, which,was also introduced at the request of the Industry. The standard of grading was based on the requirements of the consumer in Britain. There was therefore a close relationship between the grading of the cream on the factory stage, the grading of the butter at the port of departure and the grading of the butter in Britain when it reached the consumer.