Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1908. THE NEW DAIRYING REGULATIONS.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVII, Issue 43375, 19 September 1908, Page 2

Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1908. THE NEW DAIRYING REGULATIONS.

7 his above all—to thine own self be true, ind it must follow as the night the day Thou canst not then be false to any man Shakespeare.

With regard to the new dairying regulations there can be no doubt that the object aimed at in the strict imposition of sanitary conditions is perfection of quality in the butter which is exported from the Dominion. All progressive action is a matter of expense, an expense often falling most heavily upon those who actually contribute least of the expenditure involved. While we would not wish to see the small dairy farmer hampered by the enforcement of unduly rigid precautions, we cannot but see that in the fostering of a very high standard of. perfection in one of our staple exports we are compelled, owing to the perishable nature of the commodity treated, the distance it has to go, and the immense competition it has to face, to be extremely assiduous in the avoidance of contact with any deleterious influences.

Anyone familiar with the handling of milk or butter will know bow easily it may be contaminated, and how rapidly the processes of decay go on. Quite apart from the hygienic value of scrupulous cleanliness, its value in preventing the introduction of elements of deterioration is beyond dispute. While official regulations will in some instances press in a somewhat arbitrary way upon the farmer with whom the farmer has no quarrel as regards his observance of the spirit of such regulation, it will do so only with the object of reaching beyond him to the other man whose operations require controlling. Dairying inspection has from time to time revealed a state of affairs which demanded immediate remedy, and the object aimed at in all state oversight of matters affecting the butter industry is to bring every supplier up to one uniform standard of perfection. In an industry, such as the butter industry, to allow carelessness on the part of individual suppliers is to penalise every farmer who supplies wholesome and rightly treated milk or cream to the same factory. When we remember that it is a matter of some sixty days from the J Dominion to the London market, the liability to deterioration is obviously areally increased. With our near rivals this factor of distance hardly exists. Take Denmark for instance, butter leaving Copenhagen for London has a journey of thirty hours duration practically no time to deteriorate. So that this factor of our remoteness from our market is an added reason for precaution. As to the competition to be faced on the London market, that is the supreme challenge to perfection. It is no mere wish for a gratifying reputation for perfection in our butter which makes us advocate first class quality in our output, but rather the securing of a settled demand, based upon such a reputation. Considering the importance to the whole Dominion of our butter trade, we would urge upon suppliers the necessity of securing the patronage of those who, even in times of extreme depression would still buy good butter, and would not fall back upon inferior makes or upon butter substitutes

That the keenness of the competition . on the London market is only an indication of the prizes to be won there goes without saying. Denmark out of an annual output of fifteen million pounds worth of butter sent eleven million pounds worth to London last year. In fostering our trade on this commodity with London we are seeking to mine a souice of income which is practically inexhaustible.