THE FARM INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 570, 27 July 1909, Page 8

THE FARM INDUSTRY.

PASTEURISATION. . .. . ( . MR. CUDDIE'S CONCLUSIONS. RE AND WHEY. ',- An interesting bulletin has been issued 'from the Dairy Commissioner, Mr. D. Cud : die, on pasteurisation of skimmed-milk and whey, which is now occupying such wide attention in dairying circles. An outline of the Commissioner's remarks is as follows;— Not Costly. .... . In order to prove that tho works could be carried out at a very moderate expense, tho pasteurisation of slcimmed-milk and whey was undertaken by officers of tho Dairy Division, at the cost of tho Department of Agriculture, at two factories in tho North Island. When the exhaust steam was used to heat the skimmed-inilk the expenso for fuel was almost nil. Worked out on a basis of cost for fuel per pound of fat in tho Whole milk, and taking that at 3.9 per cent, (which is the average test of / niilk supplied to factories in New Zealand),'it would only mean an expenditure of 0.025 d. per pound .of; fat when direct steam is used in tho pasteuriser. Utilising the exhaust steam, and calculating on the samo basis, tho cost works out at 0.0033 d. per pound of fat in the whole milk. In the case of heating tho ■whey with a jet of steam direct into the liquid, , the cost per pound of fat in tho whole milk is 0.0416 d. It is, of course, not expected that the pasteurising of tho skimmed-milk and whey at every factory could be done for quite such a low price as this; but at. the faotories ■where the work was done tbero were no epecial advantages which would tend to cheapen tho actual cost. . ; .. • , ■ £!rst Cost. The -first cost of installing tho pasteurising plant to treat the skimmed-milk would depend on the quantity ,of milk received at the factory'and tho speed at which it was desired 'to run the milk -through, and may bo sot down as follows:— > For a-factory handling 450 gallons per hour, £40; fiso gallons, £65; ■ 800 gallons, £85; 1000 gallons, £105; and 2000 gallons, £140.' ... :- ■/. .■ . .. ... ... For ' heating ■ the whey , -, .with a jet of live steam the cost o'f the'steam-piping, valves, etc., would be the only outlay, and this would depend on tho distance of the whey-tanks from the factory, but should not exceed £6, or £8 at the outside. Treating the Whey. ■ : " Taking the details published in this bulletin with tho statements made by Mr. Cuddie, in his address at theManawatu Dairy Show, it : appears, that'the cost of pasteurising the whey from 10001b. of: milk is as follows:— . , , :' .'■-'■■■■ ;,. Degrees of Lbs..coal .■ . ' ..' ■ . ;■. heat, F. used.' Cost. ... ' 150 6.08 . 1.26 d. ' '■'. 160 /7.51 ' 1.51 d. 170 8.94 ■ 1.86 d. . 180' / 10.73/ ." 2,23 d. The cost is based on ordinary coal costing £1 18s. lOd.'per ton'delivered.' The question of ,what degree of heat' may be reached without injury to the milk is N oneof some importance, because on it depends the effect upon the nutritive value of the finished article. It appeared that a heat of 160 degrees could be attained without injury to. the'niilk, and as the greater the heat the. greater is the certainty of destroying all the diseaso/ germs it would appear that 160 degrees would 1 be the best,heat to; aim at. A temperature of 170 degrees thickened the albumen, and caused it to -separate from the whey.; That temperature then is to bo guarded against, for, beside the fact that coagulated albumen is considered by authori-' ties. to; be of impaired feeding value,, : .there ■ are the further drawbacksj',:.re'fei , red; to'.bythe Dairy Commissioner, that the albumen, being coagulated, might not bo evenly'distributed. to ;tbe suppliers, or might nqt.be evenly distributed among the pigs to whom it was subsequently fed.. Apart from tho degreo of heat attained, duration of, ; heat-, ing also influences tho bactericidal efficiency of tho process. It was found in the Dairy Commissioner's tests- that if the whey were heated to 160 degrees F., and kept in an underground tank, ib would "be not cooler than 120 degrees'by the timo the next morning arrived. Such treatment would bo effective in pasteurising the whey. A singular'proof, of the need for prolonging tho warmth was given lately by tho Chief Government. Veterinarian, who quoted".an instance where- pasteurising in tho' flush of tho season totally> eliminated'.'•' tuberculosis from a certain large pig farm,, but tlfe' same process of pasteurising later in..'the'.season let a few cases develop; This.was,attri-' buted to tho fact that the small volume of milk treated late in.the season did.not retain its heat so long "as did the larger volume in the.flush of tho flow.. Such a tendency has to; bo watched and counteracted..

It would .appear from the Dairy, Gommis-: sioner's figures that'if raw whey is.valued •at Jd. per gallon, or,-say, 2s.' Id;- per 1000 jib.,'.- the. pasteurised whey, must be quoted at 1.86 d. extra, 'or ,8. total of just over 2s: 2Jd. per lpOOlb. ?one may calculate it in. another/way and-say-that if/.a: ■farmer were feeding IOOOIb. of whey.perday to a herd of 100 his total'cost''for tho whole herd, through pasteurising, would bo just over 25." 22-d.,, instead of 2s. Id. .per ;day. For this extra, outlay of. scarcely 2d.' per day onthe whole herd, ho. could-almost guarantee all his young pigs : to.: be ■ free from tuberculosis. Is it-worth-it?:, Skimmed Milk Tests.' ■ ;•.,' In. the tests, on skimmed- milk,,..the temperature was raised by live steam to between 170 and 175 degrees F. The costs'of wood or coal for the Seating were aboutJJie same. ,—namely, one ; pewiy per 10001b. - of ■ milk. Where exhaust steam was used, the cost, was only Jd. per 10001b.. milk,'due' to the use of cold w,ater in the boiler. The heated milk, it ■is "found, does-not cause scouring, in the animals fed,, and it dispensed witn the need of hot'water for mixing/with tie grain. The heated milk adhered more to, the cans, whjch, therefore, needed more • scrubbing, but this is- not an unmixed evil from a factory manager's point of view., In a summary of the results of the > State experiments it may be said that the factory's coal bill was inoreased by. 50 por cent, by ■the live-steam pasteurising;-"of,- where-wood fuel was used,'by 45 per cent. ... When exhaust steam was used, tho increase of-cost on thewood fuel bill was'only 6 per cent. DAIRY ITEMS. - - ' ■ ' ■ ' ■ 'v ■ (From Our Travelling Correspondent) .'■ The Shannon Co-operative Dairy Company will shortly resume operations. "The factory has been considerably altered, and improved during the winter. Amongst the improved labour-saving appliances is the Topliss combined churn and worker, an instrument which is regarded by many as tho most complete ever introduced into a New. Zealand factory. The Levin Dairy Company, which had a most successful season last year,' is increasing its plant. It is understood also that the company contemplate the erection of a new ;crcamery at Koputaioa, ■' on theManawatu :line.'. '■< .'. : ~ .-■'•.-',■■ :'.'-. '-. :.

' Mr. J. M'Farlandji one of the directors bit ;the Bunnythorpe Dairy/Company, is. installing an L.K.G. , on his farm. , ; ' '■■ ' ' ...It is reported on very good authority'that tho Wanganui Dairy Company will erect a cheese 'factory at' Okoia, whero they already .have a butter factory, The further establishment of cheese factories seems , to bo viewed with more favour than formerly in tho Wanganui and Tnranaki districts.., The ■Wanganui Fresh Food and Ico Comipany, which commenced operations last year, ■has had a most successful run. Tho company is .'taking-in home-sepafated cream, which is Easteurised, and so well treated that the utter made.lias quite a local reputation. Tho Rata Dairy Company recently purchased the Parataku Creamery from the Wanganui Dairy Company. Tho Parataku creamery is situated about four miles from the Rata factory. Tho result of the purchase is that the output from Rata will bo considerably increased.

As previously announced, tho Apiti' Dairy Company has selected as its manager. Mr. Allwood, late dairy inspector at Palmerston North. Mr. Allwood lias a fine record as a

butter-maker in Okato Factory, Taranakl, where his average grade for thrcp ycare was 93 points. iJIr. Runnerstrum, Paimcrston Isorth manager for Messrs. J. B. MacEwan and Co., states that it is more and more- evident every year that the milking machino lias come to stay. The L.K.G., said Mr. Runncrfltrum, seemed to be tho machine in greatest use, and owing to its sirnplo and first-class manufacture it was in great favour with tho farmers.Tho now semi-proprietary cheese company, which is to commence operations shortly,at Woodville, will liavo a guaranteed supply of milk from 1000 cows. When a Piripiri dairyman heard that, following tho erection of a cheoso' factory in bin district, another was to bo started nt Woodvillo, ho remarked lugubriously that cheeso prices would slump this forthcoming season. Ho imagined that tho output from these , two factories would causo a glut in 'tho London market. It is of some interest to know that, of-tho entire British consumption of cheese, Now Zealand supplies about fivo per cent. Tho Dominion might therefore very easily double- its present output with Jittlo fear-,of causing a glut.' What would affect prices, however, would .be poor quality, and this is a matter', which affects both dairy-farmers and cheesp-makers.