BUTTER GRADING

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 42, 21 January 1944, Page 8

BUTTER GRADING

RANGITAIKI ACHIEVEMENT

UNIFORMLY IIIC.II GRADE

ARTICLE

The Rangitaiki Dairy Company has, for the six months ended 31st December, 19-13, manufactured 2511 tons of butter as against 2410 tons for the six months ended 31st December, 1912. The butter has graded exceptionally Avell as is indicated by an unbroken run of 03,739 boxes grading 94 points or over. 20,391 boxes grading 94% points, are included in this tally. A number of. theories can be put forward as possible reasons, for this phenomenally good grading and include the restricted use. of fertilisers, better quality of the raw cream, improved methods of vacreation or pasteurisation, better control of temperatures in tlie factory,, and carcful work in the factory churning and packing departments. Possibly all these factors plus some others have contributed towards bringing the Rangitaiki Plains Dairy Company into the limelight as one of the high grading butter factories in the Auckland Province. Last season the dairy company averaged 93% points for its huge output and ranked thirteenth out of 52 Auckland factories. This season the company is doing better still and, in all its history, hast never had such good results. Success has been achieved in the facc of handicaps Avhich include an exceptionally large Output and a long distance from the. grading stores. Improved Methodis Whilst many factors may be re-' sponsible for the improved results it. must be conceded that, those who hold that the substantial improvement in butter grade coincides with, and is the result of, improved methods in the factory treatment, of the raw_ cream have a fairly strong case. Several years ago, officers of the Hamilton Dairy Division, under the able and energetic .leadership of Mr H. J. Pet eh, j) reached the gospel of intensive vacreation of the raw cream and supported their recommendations by giving the results achieved by several factory managers' who had been pioneers, in giving the cream very severe treatment through the vacreators. Briefly, the underlying principles were to treat the raw cream most intensively and to augment this byi putting the cream through the vacreators at a speed of. 600 gallons, an hour, instead of the then average speed of 1,000 gallons an hour. Planning Ahead The. necessary requisites were sufficient steam and sufficient vacreators. The directors of the company took the long view, installed a new 100 H. Power Boiler, a third vacreator and increased the refrigeration capacity of the butter factory. Fortunately the purchases were made just in time. To-day, some factories would; .like to increase their plant but find many ol' the nccesstiry units quite unprocurable. With the necessary plant installed, solid backing and assistance from the Hamilton Dairy Division and the co-operation of the butter factory manager and his staff, the grading results, showed a substantial and gratifying upward trend. The improved position dates' baqk to approximately 2% years ago and commenced with vacreation treatment of cream at 500 gallons instead of 1000 gallons an hour. Many who stress this intensive treatment feel that the. Rangitaiki Plains Dairy Company's experience and record Justifies their belief in it. This company has not only improved its grade and. maintained good results, but compares more than favourably with other factories, who. with limited boiler and vacreation capacity are unfortunate enough to have to deal with excessive, feed flavours in the raw cream. Factory Staff's Interest Plant alone, is not sufficient, and great credit is due to the butter factory manager and his assistants for intelligent and efficient work, for care in cream grading, packing and, in particular,, in the churning of the butter. Temperatures nicely controlled in the holding vats and churning work faithfully done have, no doubt, contributed towards the record. number of consignments grading 94% points. If it so happens, and possibly it is the case, that the Rangitaiki PlainsCompany is grading particularly well as compared with other factories in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato districts, the directors and staff feel no undue sense of elation. The vagaries of butter manufacture and grading are too well known and

the high grading factory of to-day lias occasionally been the poor grading factory of to-morrow. It is hoped however, that the more intensive vacreator treatment is in the main responsible for the excellent grading of the last three seasons and that the company will continue to manufacture a large percentage of premium butter 94 points and over. If the methods at present being adopted at the Rangitailci Plains Factory stand the test of time, it may be possible to apply them elsewhere with beneficial results and so increase the volume- of high' grading New Zealand butter on the overseas markets.

Infinitismali Loss

It appears as if the general consensus of opinion amongst the factory managers, who have found it necessary and possible 1 to treat most intensively the cream received at their respective factories, is that the additional losses of butterfat during the manufacturing process are very small if they exist at. tilH The Dairy Division's figures or official views' in this connection are awaited with the utmost interest. That, more steam is required at the cost of additional coal cannot be denied, but the extra cost for coal is not excessive 1 . In the Rangitaiki Company's case, the additional' amount involved, for last season was approximately £500. The gain, by way of premium butter was nearly £3000. Apart from the question of butterfat losses, this left the sum of £2500 in hand. On the experts' advice and the company's own figures a substantial portion of this £2500 was sheer gain. Provided the company can, without additional cost, improve its grade from .25 to .5 per cent, the effort is; worth while, and results in another 5000 tons of New Zealand, butter annually going on the Home market at an average grade of 93.5> instead of 93 points. It is of course, realised that whilst 93.5 points is a good average grade for more factories in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty areas, the grade is considerably lower than that achieved by many factories; in say the AVellington and Taranaki districts. These last mentioned districts do not have to contend with the flush of feed and consequent feed flavours peculiar to the South Auckland pastures and climate. Suppliers Cbmmended' There is no need to stress the. factthat the better the quality of the raw cream the better, generally speaking, will be the resultant butter. I t is ' therefore interesting to note that the suppliers' have during November supplied 91.38 per cent of (inest cream and during December. 90.10 per cent of finest. These high percentages speak well for quality and the company is most appreciative of the standard which has been set by its suppliers. Local Supplies The above comments would, be incomplete without some reference to local butter qualify. The Board of Directors has included in the company's regulations a resolution to the effect that the butter'supplied for local consumption must be ol the same quality as that forwarded for export. lit is felt that in the main and indeed in practically all cases the board's intention is i>iven full effect to. The question then arises as to why complaints' are made, and on many occasions, with good foundation, in regard to the quality of the 111) pats. It is felt that the. main trouble is the extreme difficulty in avoiding the butter becoming heated once it is out of cold storage. The butter deteriorates very rapidly after coming out of refrigerated storage and the damage sustained cannot be remedied by again placing the butter in a cool room. Those who are fortun-. ate. enough to be able to purchase their butter from a cool storage room or refrigerator and immediately transfer it to their own private refrigerator lind the quality, with an odd exception, most satisfactory. During the present, extremely hot weather conditions, it must be almost impossible for those who cannot keep butter in cool storage to store it for any length ol time and maintain quality. It is not suggested that the. Rangitaiki Plains butter is always of the best quality, but it is" considered tljat the general standard of both export and

local can stand comparison with that manufactured by most of the other butter, factories in the Auckland Province, No False Pride These, comments might give rise to the conclusion that the dairy company feels that it is one step ahead of its sister companies so far as butter grading is concerned. This

is far from the feeling' that exists amongst the. directors and staff. The company's buildings and plant have lent themselves to the adoption of recommendations and these havethere lore. been given effect to. Other dairy companies would gladly have experimented in a similar fashion had this course been possible and the necessary plant been available. With all the knowledge, technique and plant at its disposal the dairy company may, at any time, have to face the most disappointing grading returns and start the fight all over again. The present good results combined Avitli a short description of iiow they may have been achieved. will, it is hoped, make interesting reading.