KING COUNTRY DAIRYING.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 443, 28 February 1912, Page 6

KING COUNTRY DAIRYING.

GENERAL NOTES

The success which has crowned the establishment of the dairying industry in the Marokopa district is inducing other contiguous districts to seriously consider the advantages to be gained. Since the inception of this factory settlers from Ratanui have been suppliers and have been carting their cream for a distance of 17 miles. These settlers are now considering the question of establishing a factory in their own district. In the Ratanui district is to be found some of the best dairying land in the King Country. The holdings are all of a suitable size for dairying and should the settlers finally decide to start there is little doubt but that the venture will be a success. If the Ratanui settlers make a start it is anticipated that the loss to the Marokopa factory after the completion of the present season will not be felt as present indications point to the fact that the Marokopa supply will shortly tax the capacity of that factory to its utmost. Another new factory is to be erected in the Mokauiti district, Tanigtu, for operations next season. The articles of association are being prepared and already settlers have signified their intention of taking shares to the extent of £450. It is anticipated that the number of shares which will be eventually taken will considerably exceed the number subscribed at present. The industry should prove a great success in that part of the district as the country is eminently adapted for dairying as well as the holdings being of the right size. It would behove settlers to work up a persistent, agi tation in connection with the main road to the railway otherwise settlers will be beset with many difficulties in the getting away of their produce. In view of the enormous increase of the dairying industry in the King Country during the past few years, and the potentialities that are looming in the distance, it certainly would be in order for a district which has all its dairying life ahead to profit from details that might unthinkingly be classed as technical or of no importance. The whole question boils itself down to a question of £ s d. and if so, what greater enticement should be requisite to incite the farmer to do his best. The first and foremost and most important matter in connection with the industry is the obligation of the farmer. When the decision has been come to that it is to be dairying then it is for him to accomplish his work of milk production in the most scientific and economical manner possible. He must do it for his own sake. Slipshod methods simply mean that the farmer n throwing away hia money. Next to the best methods of producing the raw material, comes the most scientific method of manufacture and the way of marketing the finished product. To do that all employed in the dairy industry must co-operate for the general good. The merchant must use his business ability, the factory manager must turn out a good article and the farmer must supply the raw material of the best quality and in the best condition. In oi'der that a first-grade article may be produced the farmers have a duty to perform to their factory manager and to one another. The Israelites of old made a tremendous fuss about being ordered to make bricks without the necessary straw, and no blame to them, for it was before the days of unions and arbitration courts, and the strikers Were very pleasantly overruled. The question then arises: can the factory manager be blamed for failing in the same manner? If second-grade cream is sent to the factory it would be a miracle for the cleverest manager to produce a firstgrade article. The whole matter lies in the farmers' hands, and he is in the possession of the remedy. If he sends along a bad conditioned raw material he may alter the whole output of the factory, and so he not only injures himself, but also injures his fellows in the company, and does not add to the manager's reputation.

On the majority of farms, no matter how well regulated, there seems to be room for improvment. When the crop 3 are being put in or when the harvesting is taking place everything has to give way to these operations. The cows are hustled too much and the same attention is more than likely given to cleanliness. A point that is very often badly neglected is the proper cooling and aerating of the milk with bad results. The cost of an aerator is not very great and every farmer who supplies milk to a factory would du well to have one installed on his place. The question of the unsanitary state of some carts in which milk or cream is carted to the factory is a matter of the greatest importance. Many farmers run away with the idea that if they keep their cans clean inside it does not matter about the outside, and little or no interest is taken in the cleanliness of the cart. The consequence is that there is often a quarter of an inch of slimy matter in the bottom uf the cart. The milk cans rest in this and when the man who takes delivery of the milk handles the cans the hand which he grasps the can to tilt into the vat gets filthy. He cannot be continually washing his hands and the result is thai things generally get into a very untidy state. There is also the continual danger of dirt falling into the milk, which is probably full of injurious bacteria and the effects upon the flavour and quality must be bad. It would be a very simple matter for farmers to wash out their carts thoroughly, and a few buckets of water swilled over it, and a good scrubbing with a hard broom would be all that is necessary, and wouid only take a few minutes every morning. This may seem a refinement, but too much attention cannot be paid to cleanliness, and the point mentioned is really an important one.