THE BEST MILK.

Putaruru Press, Volume IV, Issue 133, 20 May 1926, Page 6

THE BEST MILK.

FOR CHEESE MAKING. Investigation To Be Made. It is a debatable question among some makers as to whether cheese is : better for a liberal allowance of but- '• terfat or not. Apparently the Friesian ' breeders think it is not, and they use 1 the argument that New Zealand is 1 suffering from competition with Canadian cheese. The bulk of the breeds in Canada are Friesians and Ayrshires ; there are few Jerseys comparatively speaking. From this they argue that Jersey breeders or any | owners of high-testing cows receive too high a payment for their milk while the payment is based on a , butterfat basis, and thus gain an unj fair advantage over owners supplying milk of lower test. I At the annual meeting of the Tara- | naki Friesian Breeders’ Association at i Stratford there was a long discussion 1 on the subject of “ payment on a : butterfat basis.” It was explained I that this was perfectly fair in eon- ] nection with butter manufacuring but was inequitable so far as cheese was j concerned. The lower-testing milk | was the best for cheese, because it contained more of the solids so necessary in the manufacture of that pro- , duct. The higher the butterfat content the lower the ratio of the non-fatty solids, and therefore the payment on a butterfat basis for cheese was distinctly inequitable. In a letter to the Hawera Star, Mr. T. A. Winks, chairman of the Federation of Taranaki Co-op. Dairy Fac- ] tories, writing with regard to a hope expressed that use would be made of the Manaia Demonstration Farm for the purpose of investigating the relative merits of Jersey and Ayrshire milks for cheese making, states:— “ The suggestion is a valuable one, and, coming at the present time, serves to indicate that interest is still | keen in this much-discussed subject, j I would therefore like to make public the fact that the Federation of Taranaki Co-operative Dairy Factories has not lost sight of the economic importance of such an investigation, and proposes, by means of its laboratory at "Hawera, to make comprehensive experiments along these lines during the whole of next milking season. “ Unique facilities for an investigation into the relative values of pure Jersey, Ayrshire and Friesian milks for cheese making are to be found close to Hawera, and by co-operation between the factory and the laboratory it is hoped to obtain a reliable and authoritative answer to this oftargued question. “ The experiment was originally intended for the present season, but, on account of the recent shipping strike and the unforeseen delays, much of the equipment of the laboratory was so late in arriving that a large part of the season was already gone be- | fore a start could have been made, j It was therefore deemed advisable to wait and secure the benefits of a wellplanned experiment, lasting over a whole season, rather than secure results of doubtful value applying to only part of the lactation period and i obtained by use of the hastily-adapted I apparatus. j “It is possible that the suggestion j applies rather to an experiment based upon the relative carrying capacities i of land for different breeds or to ini' vestigations regarding their production under various types of feeding, j If so, I wish to make it clear that the i federation is not in a position to undertake an inquirv of this nature ' yet, but perhaps later on the coI operation of the Manaia Demonstration Farm might be sought when we have settled other aspects of the question.”