FEED FLAVOURS.

Putaruru Press, Volume IV, Issue 145, 12 August 1926, Page 6

FEED FLAVOURS.

RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTS. On the subject of feed flavours in milk, which subject considerably affects the Morrinsville district, a Southern exchange comments as follows : The outcome of many experiments that have been undertaken to determine the reasons for the variations in flavour and odour of milk and the means of control appears to be that many of the objectionable feed flavours reach the milk through the body of the cow and not through absorption from the air of the milking shed. This lias been shown to be true of green clover and lucerne and to a slight extent with green maize. The same effect was found to be exercised whsn the green feed was cut and carted _to the animals as when they were, al-

lowed to graze. When the green food was consumed within an hour of milking, these undesirable flavours were present. When three hours elapsed between the feeding or grazing on clover or lucerne the intensity of the objectionable condition of the milk was considerably reduced. When the interval was five hours the flavour and the odour became normal. The recommendation is that cows should be put on the grass, clover, or rank growth of any sort, or fed on carted green feed, immediately after milking, and that they : pass a certain time, four hours if possible, in a pasture of clean grass., -, Jt may be noted that this precaution applies more especially in spring and early summer. The strong odour and flavour appear to lessen as the plants pass the ripening stage. It may not be forgotten that clover or lucerne that has been cut and allowed’ to wilt parts with at least some of its strong odour and that it is no less palatable to the animal.