THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 August 1922, Page 6

THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.

STANDARDISATION OF MILK. Speaking at Monday's annual meeting of the Riverdale Dairy Company, the chairman of directors (Mr. J. S. McKay) said, referring to the season just ended, although it had been a good one as far as production was concerned, the prices realised had been unsatisfactory. He thought that the fluctuating market had been brought about by other causes than that of supply anil demand. He referred to speculators, and said that so long as dairymen were content with their present system of marketing so long would they have to grin and bear it. He believed that the dairy pool was an honest attempt by the leaders of the industry to place it on a better footing. However, the word compulsory did not appeal to some, and the scheme was turned down. No scheme for the improvement of the marketing system would ever be a success unless it was attended by whole-hearted cooperation on the part of the producers. The proposal to hold fortnightly sales in New Zealand did not appeal to him, hut he did not see anything wrong with the holding of periodical sales in London. Finance would have to be arranged. and the proposal would meet with opposition from Tooley Street, but the companies should come out all right if they were unanimous.

Passing on. the chairman said that shipping conditions had been most unsatisfactory, and ships had not been arriving at Homo regularly. Speculators must have been reaping a harvest. Although most ships were equipped to carry cheese in good condition there were some that could be improved doon. For instance it was not of much use to place cheese in a cool chamber unless there was plenty of air circulation. The chairman thought it was the duty of those who held power to see that New ■ Zealand cheese was carried Hom? in [good condition.

With reference to the manufacture of part skimmed cheese. shareholders would have increased pay-outs by companies who were manufacturing part skimmed cheese and butter instead of whole cream Cheese. The question was whether or not there was going to be a demand for part skimmed cheese in large • quantities. If there was going to be a (difference of 20s per cwt one could not ’blame dairy companies if they manufac tured the new product. He thought that there should be some distinction between whole cream and part skimmed cheese in the way of difference in color, size, or shape. If there were not some distinction there was a grave danger of the market for New Zealand cheese being spoiled. Then there was the question of the standardisation of milk for cheesemaking. The chairman placed before the meeting the following figures:—loo lb of‘ milk with a 3.5 test and a 2.8 yield made 9.8 lb .of cheese; 100 lb of milk with a 5.0 test and a 2.5 yield made 12.5 lb of cheese. The higher grade milk made about three-elevenths more cheese than the lower grade and contained three-sevenths more butterfat. In other words, the cheese made from the 5.0 test contained one-seventh more butter-fat than the 3.5 milk, showing that if a 5.0 test milk were skimmed down to 4.5 it would make cheese with the same quantity of fat content per lb. If the milks were mixed it wo><d make an average yield of 2.65. Therefore the ■high testing milk would get 15 lb of I cheese per lb of butter-fat. That would i equal 3 lb of cheese for the excess fat. 'This went to prove that the higher grade milk did not make such a correspondingly rich cheese as the difference in the tests would indicate.