STANDARDISING BUTTER-FAT CONTENT OF CHEESE.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 August 1919, Page 2

STANDARDISING BUTTER-FAT CONTENT OF CHEESE.

To the Editor. Sir,—ln tills morning's paper I see a letter from Mr VV. J. Freeth, In which he considers that a dairy farmer the more he Improves his herd the less he should be prepared to take for his milk. He would pay a man with a low test an average of 3.57 for the season 2s o>4d or 7s 2%d per lOOlbs. of milk, yet he considers the, man who has Improved his herd and has worked his lest up to 4.35 should be prepared to take Is 10% d per lb. for his butterfat, or 8a 2%d per 1001b. of milk. Now why, Mr Freeth, should Die man with the high testing herd have to take less for his milk? If the man with tlio 4.35 test sot the same price for his butter-fat as the man with the 3.57 test, that Is 2s o%d per lb of butter-fat, he would get 8s 9%d per lOOlbs of milk, whw-s with the present system of cheese-maid- io has to tnlie 8s 2%d, and grin and hear it .;>• should ho lose this 7d per 100 lb of milk .men there is a remedy for It? It mnv not sound much In small figures, but with a man taking -000 lb of milk a day it means a loss to him of £4 Is 8d a week. lam verv pleased to see Mr J. Conhett has taken this matter* up, and I wish him every success There is no doubt the matter can be remedied, If It is tackled on the right, lines, and at the same time very much Improve the quality of New Zealand cheese. A high quality clieese cannot be made from low-testing milk, neither can it bo made from high-testing milk. It is made from milk testing from 3.9 to 4.2. Mr Connett, In his address at Okato, said that as far as he knew no grader could distinguish the difference in tho clieese with the extra fat content (say, cheese made from milk testing 5,0 per cent butter-fat) Well, lam quite satlsfled tho grader would know the difference and he would consider It such poor quality that It would be very lucky If it got second grade, whereas if the milk had been skimmed down to a 4 3 or 4 4 test, and then cheese made out of tho partially skim milk, I am quite satisfied the grader would consider It some of the finest cheese ho had ever handled. The leading dairying journals of the Dominion would to cracking up some factory manager, or other on the high quality of his cheese, and on the opposite page they would very likely offer a big roward for anyone giving information that would lead to tho conviction of, any person caught skimming milk used for cheese-making. The trials of a cheese factoty manager I Thank God, I am not one I—l am, etc.; A. T. TOMIiINSON. Stratford, 14th August.