CORRESPONDENCE. QUALITY PAYMENT FOR MILK

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11, 17 May 1913, Page 5

CORRESPONDENCE.

QUALITY PAYMENT FOR MILK

[To The Editor Stratford Post.]

Sir,— Very often articles appear in the papers concerning the supply ot milk in unsatisfactory conditions to the factories. Many dairy farmers, perhaps, do not take any notice of these articles, lint the matter is really important enough to command attention for two reasons, viz., firstly, in regard to those dairy farmers who supply good and clean milk, and secondly for the sake of New Zealand dairying in general. Butter and cheese-makers are always expected to manufacture first-grade butter ano cheese, no matter what the quality of the supplied milk—it may ho first, second, or even third-grade. Everybody should know that first-grade butter and cheese cannot be made from inferior milk. Some dairy farmers think that pasteurising makes the cream better, regardless how good the milk was from which the cream was taken, but, really, that is not so. In pasteurising the cream, you only kill the micro-organisms which the cream contains; in other words, you do not let the cream get worse, bad as it really was. With had milk, in pasteurising the cream and replanting lactic acid, bacteria starter, you car, perhaps get some good butter, but never good cheese. Good and careful work is highly valued in every trade. Could it not be possible in dairy farming by means of qualitypayment for milk? Instead of that, tiio careful and clean supplier of milk has to be satisfied with the same price for his good milk that another gets For his bad. But when the qualitypayment is introduced in dairy farming, the farmer need not deal with the pennies or perhaps the pounds as far as his milk is worth in comparison with another supplier. By qua-hty-payment, every supplier will be more careful with his milk, because this will raise the quality of dairy products and the value of them which is evident. In most factories at Homo (Denmark), the milk is paid for by quality, and this has given good results. In cheese factories, it has raised the price of skim-milk three-seve-nths of a penny per kilogramme (fibs). In conclusion, I will give a little example as to how much a supplier of good milk can get by qualitypayment in comparison to that obtained by a bad supplier. A and B each supply 20001bs of milk. The milk of A is first-class, with 12 points, and B is second, with 8 points; and together they receive £1 (it must be remarked that bonus only is dealt with). Now 12 points multiplied by 2000 gives 24,000 points units; 8 points multiplied by 2000 gives 16,000 point units—together, 40,000 p. units. Now, we have to find the price bf one point unit, which is found by dividing £1 or 240 pennies by 40,000 —.066 penny which is the price of one point unit. A had 24,000 point units, and .006 multiplied by 24,000 gives 144 pennies, nr 12 shillings. B had 16,000 point units, and .006 multiplied by 16,000 gives 96 pennies, or 8 shillings—a matter of 4 shillings difference—the sum which A will receive for his carefulness.—l am etc., / SOMEONE.