DAIRY PRODUCE

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 38, 14 February 1930, Page 14

DAIRY PRODUCE

RECORD PRODUCTION

MANAGERS' CONFERENCE

The annual conference of the Manawatu branch of the Dairy Factory Managers' Association was held in Wellington yesterday. There was a largo attendance or those associated with the dairy industry from all parts of the southern half of'the North Island. Mr. A. Adams, president of the association, occupied tne chair. .. , In the course of an address on the quality of the butter and cheese passing through the grading store during the present season, Mr. J. E. Curie, chief grader for the Dairy Division at Wellington, said with regard to butter that the quality, on the whole, had been good. There, was room for improvement in butter from fac-tory-separated cream, and trie point was one that managers might find worth lookl\eferring to cheese, Mr. Curie said it had been much the same as last year, and he did not think there was any month in which there had been a quarter of a point's difference between this season's and last season's cheese. A great deal had been said about standardising of cheese, and that it would produce a better cheese, but this had not been the experience at Wellington. There'was not the quantity of finest quality in standardised as was in the full cream. MR. SINGLETON'S COMMENT. Mr. W. M. Singleton, Director of the Dairy Division, appealed to managers for a continuance of their support in the work of the Dairy Division. New Zealand needed that co-operation both in butter and cheese. Competition was likely to be stronger with butter, and the best efforts were necessary to keep it in demand. Cooperation was needed in effecting an improvement in the quality of the cheese. There had been an improvement in the quality of cheese, but there was still need for improvement in regard to openness. He was satisfied that there was a certain amount of openness that was avoidable. Reference was also made by Mr. Singleton to standardised cheese. Those making standardised cheese, he said, and they alone, were responsible for how it was received on the London markets. The question of standardised cheese and the policy to be followed had not been finallyl settled yet. A meeting was to be held at Palmerston North on. 21st February to discuss the question. Every factory should have a salt test, stated Mr. Singleton. There were quite a number of factories in New Zealand not putting sufficient salt into the butter, and consequently losing money for the individual factory as well as New Zealand. On the other hand, some of the smaller factories were putting in too much. He hoped to see a regulation concerning the salt content in butter, for it would mean money to the dairy companies and the country. RECORD* PRODUCTION. Mr. W. E. Gwilliam congratulated dairy farmers on a record production of butter and cheese. "For the seven months—August to January—of the current dairy year the production of butter and' cheese as indicated by the grading figures and expressed- in terms of butter-fat shows an increase of 5.9 per cent, over the corresponding period of the previous year," eaid Mr. Gwilliam. '•The figures for the previous period were the highest on record at' that time. The quality of the butter graded this season has been well maintained, and the average for the year will probably be well ahead of last year." Mr. Gwilliam remarked that some fine lines of cheese had come to hand, but the_ quality of many lines left much to be cle'sired. However, it was expected that the average for the year would show a fair improvement over that of the previous year. "For some time the average quality of 'cheese has not been on the same high plane as the average quality of butter," he said. "Both butter and cheese are graded on the basis of the same points for equal-quality. The averages are therefore comparable. In round figures the cheese for the past two years has averaged about one point lower than the butter. About two-thirds of the butter has been finest grade and the proportion of finest grade cheese has been slightly less than one-third. Moreover, during the year 1926----27, when the Dairy Board arranged a premium for finest grade cheese, the proportion of fine grade cheese was between 54 and 55 per cent. During the past two years the proportion has declined to 30 per cent." . i It therefore appeared evident, stated 'Mr. Gwilliam, that those who dealt in butter had a higher quality article to sell than those who dealt in cheese. That was possibly the main reason why New Zealand cheese gave less general satisfaction than the butter. A reduction in the quantity , : of finest grade cheese from 54 per cent.1 to 30 per cent, in two years was a matter 'for some concern. Further, to have 75 per cent, of finest grade butter and only 30 per cent, of finest grade cheese suggested that New Zealand had a rather weak grip on the cheese trade. Butter producers, with few exceptions, had long since satisfied themselves that butter must be of the highest possible quality to ensure the most profitable returns, and had made finest grade their objective. 'With cheese producers the conviction that finest grade was the grade to aim for did not appear to have gained the same hold.