BUTTER AND CHEESE.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 77, 27 March 1912, Page 8

BUTTER AND CHEESE.

FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF THE DAIRYMAN. The question which article is the hotter one from a dairyman’s standpoint is still, and will ho in the future, one on which many dairy farmers will differ in opinion, and quite rightly so. It will depend, of course, greatly on the class of dairying each dairyman elects to follow, and upon the relative values of the two products in the world’s market. In some seasons, the disparity in prices is quite marked, and often gives cheese a decided advantage over butter from a price for butter-fat standpoint, and whilst opinions as to difference in the value of the respective by-products (differ widely, I think it can for all practical purposes be conceded that the feeding values of the respective by-products are largely dependent on the user, and on general average it can be reckoned that skim milk gives about double the profit of whey. The writer has had no practical experience of the use of the latter article, and cannot speak with authority on the subject, but 'he has conversed with many practical m'en whose opinions carry weight, and from these conversations he has been led to believe that about IRI to LUI difference in,/the price per lb of butter-fat about balances the ledger in the actual feeding values of the two articles. One well known man whoso dairy experience is great, sets it, that only when the difference amounts to twopence per lb, or over, would a man he justified in changing from butter to cheese, or rather a factory face the question of a dual plant. Where large milk supplies are available under one roof the question is easily decided by a dual plant, but this easy solution of the difficulty is not practical in a district where supplies are small, and factory interests overlapping each other. The amount of commercial butter available from lib of butter-fat can be set down as something like 1.161 b, and the amount of cheese from the same basis about 2.C01h. ' The cost of manufacture of the respective articles depend entirely on the situation of the factories, and the amount of the intake of butter-fat or milk under one roof. A butter factory handling sufficient under one roof could work ' upon its over-run value, or less in some seasons, whereas at an exactly similar price for the manufactured article, another factory would require from Id per lb even up to 2d per lb and the over-run value to pay expenses. Similarly a cheese factory with a large intake could manufacture at from a halfpenny to five-eighths of a penny per lb, whereas one with/ a small supply might find it hard to exist with an allowance of Id per lb. The question of the future depends very largely upon tiio woldr’s production of the respective commodit'ko. For reasons which arc not altogether explainable, a remarkable rise has taken place in both articles this season, a rise no one could foresee at the commencement of the season, and consequently the bulk of the butter and cheese made in New Zealand has been sold forward at prices below the present English values. Of course no onccan say yet if the prices will rem'ain so strong to the close of the shipping season, (but the prospects at anyratc are more pointing to this being so than usual. The large falling off in the make of English cheese and also that of Canadian owing to dry seasons, is no doubt causing the exceptional prices at jjrasent realised for this article, and whilst the imports of cheese for December, 1911, show a shrinkage of 3500 tons less than December, 1910. the imports of butter show the remarkable shrinkage of 5000 tons, according to the High Commissioner’s report of January 13th. These figures give food for a great deal of thought and reflection. The tendency to follow cheese instead of butter leads one to' think the swing of the pendulum will before long bring the two articles on a more even footing of values, and the writer ventures the opinion that in the long jam the farmer will be hotter served by sticking to whichever article he is at present manufacturing. In both instances farmers at present 'are getting satisfactory values, and the only means of increasing their returns is to supply larger quantities to the factories, and so enable a lower working expense per 'lb for the manufactured article. This, and this only, can solve tire question of economies in factory management, and improve the position of factory patrons. In the writer’s opinion the question which will come strongly before the dairy farmer of the future will, be to breed cows that are specially suited) to supply milk to the factory, whether . butter or cheese most suited to the economicstandpoint of the two articles. Cheese, as is well known, calls for a milk possessing large casdin qualities of not too high a fat standard, whereas butter can practically only utilise the butter fat contained in the milk. Thus farmers should turn their attention to breeding the class of cows most suited to give the host' economic results. At present (it is too early to venture an opinion as to whether patrons to cheese factories will in the future have their payments based upon the casein anti butter-fat contents, rather than on tbo system now in vogue of paying on the butter-fat contents only. Much will depend on tbo value of the experiments now being made iin this direction. In any case the object of tbo supplier of a choose factory should he to breed cattle of a type best suited to the production cf that article, and those who patronise butter should give their attention to the breed most suitable to the

production of milk of n rich butter- , fat contents—quantity, of course, to j he aimed at as well as quality. The attention of dairymen the last few years has I men called to the manufacture of casein from skim milk and butter from separated whey, and where the intake is large there may be, some economic advantages i i both. The writer, however, has never yet been quite able to satisfy himself that either possess much merit from a farmer’s standpoint. Thos> favouring it are mostly interested from a commercial view, rather than from a farmer’s standpoint,, and whilst they argue that the by-pro-ducts after treatment still possess good feeding qualities, the writer ■seems to have grave doubts, and to think whilst theoretically they make sound arguments, practically it will prove unsound. The great point that must not he lost sight of is the enormous call each year in New Zealand upon dairy cattle, and these must be necessarily bred by the dairy farmer to he what is needed. Now arises the economic aspect, as to whether the raising of those on one of the many suitable calf foods by their use iu larger quantities can be done at a lesser expense than the use of a comparative smaller quantity, added to the byproducts before treatment for whey or casein manufacture? The writer doubts if the money return of the manufacture of these articles to the farmer would prove equal to the lesser expense entailed on them in the raising of calves and pigs, and he certainly by no means feels convinced that the by-products resulting after the extracting of the fat out of whey and the casein out of skim milk would pay the farmer to cart home. As far as New Zealand is concerned, the estimates of the two articles., butter and cheese, so far this season show a decrease of 20 per cent of the butter and an increase of 20 per cent of cheese. This .shows a falling off in the whole, no doubt dim to the rough spring experienced. The quantity after December, however, ought to show much better than that during the dry summer and autumn of 1911. One thing, however, it does show, and that is that New Zealand dairying has not increased its products for the last year or two, compared with the rapid advances made for the several previous years. Britain, up to recently, has been practically the sole consumer of our exported dairy produce, and still remains so as far as cheese is concerned, but markets for butter are being opened up both on the Continent, in Canada, and the United .States of .America, .and the increase in export to the two latter countries is showing a marked increase this year. Whether or not/ this factor will in time steady up any abnormal differences in values of the respective products remains to bo yet revealed.

The Argentine lias been practically out of the list of competitors in the butter market of late, but this is probably only of a temporary nature, and duo to bad seasons rather than their having abondoned the industry. A lessened production there has mot with a better Homo market, valid practically cut off the export trade. Exactly the same effect would onsuo in this country if all ran to one article, and this effect would ho more pronounced as the population increased. Siberia is a very large factor to reckon with dn the butter trade, but Australasia could practically make either article if the market conditions pressed, and in much larger quantities than New Zealand. No one can foresee the future, or give any reliable basis or data for calculations. Some persons are given to forecasting things, which if thby eventuate stamp them as being farseeing men, but which if the forecasts don’t happen doesn’t in any way upset their reputation as prophets, as they had none. One can only look at the things from all points of the compass, giving due consideration and weight to indications, and steering a course that will at any rate eventually lead them to the harbour of comfort, if they find it impossible to reach the haven of wealth. , J.B.Y. i