CREAMERIES IN ULSTER.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVI, Issue 4854, 17 July 1925, Page 2

CREAMERIES IN ULSTER.

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INSPECTION & GRADING METHODS MAINTAINING THE QUALITY. In Northern Ireland practically all the butter exported is made in creameries which are controlled by farmers and run by them on co-operative lines, and in the matter of equipment and plant generally they lose nothing in comparison with those of the great dairying countries in Europe. There are at present 115 central and branch creameries working, and the average annual output is in the neighbourhood of 4000 tons. Up-to-date methods of maiiulacture are employed, and great care is exercised in the various < processes, as butter is of a nature which easily lends itself to contamination from outside sources. As a. result of thorough draining both before and during the working of the butter the moisture content is regulated, and although many hundreds of analyses have been made the sixteen per cent, limit allowed by law has - been rarely exceeded. Since its inception the Ministry ol Agriculture has devoted special attention to this sphere of agricultural development and endeavours at all times to assist, . as far as possible, those responsible ■ for the efficient working of the dairying industry. It provides the services of instructors fully qualified to give . advice on all matters relating to the manufacture and production of creamery butter. These officers visit the creameries during working hours, placing their specialised training at ~ the dispose! of the mnaager, suggesting remedies for defects in manufacture, making recommendations as to new’ machinery which may be requir-. ed and pointing out where improvements may be most readily effected with a view to placing on the market a commodity which shall command respect amongst butter merchants ’’ both in Ulster and Great Britain.

At a large number of creameries skilled dairymaids are employed to superintend the making of butter. The Ministry has a school in County Tyrone where the technical and practical! training of dairymaids is a special feature of the curriculum, and scholarships .are awarded to pupils who show special aptitude for this work to enable them to supplement their training at. a creamery. In order to determine which cream-' cries shall receive assistance in the marketing of their produce the Ministry holds surprise butter inspections every month at convenient centres in Northern Ireland and Great Britain. The samples—s6lb in summer and 21b in winter —are summoned by telegram and must be forwarded on the same day to the place of inspection, where, after an interval of ten days, they are judged by two local butter merchants in respect to flavour, texture, and marketable appearance. The results of the Inspections are decidedly encouraging. During the past three years 645 samples have been examined, and of these 263 gain- • ed "premium” and 145 gained “standard” marks. Last spring the Ministry introduced a scheme enabling creameries that have consistently secured high marks at the surprise inspections to stamp tlieir produce with a Government stamp. To qualify for the award of the stamp a creamery must have obtained at least “standard” marks at six inspections in immediate succession. At present fifteen creameries are entitled to use the stamp.

In the near future, when cow-test-ing associations and the use of highgrade dairy bulls have secured a larger supply bf milk of high quality, it is hoped that Northern Ireland creamery butter will gain an unassailable position and be reckoned “second to none.”