DRIED MILK

Wairarapa Age, 1 April 1920, Page 7

DRIED MILK

CONSIDERED BY IRISH FARMERS

Afc the annual meeting of the Irish Agricultural Organisation Society, held in Dublin on 11th December last, the subject of dried milk was thus referred to.

One of the memebrs, Mr Fant, said that the question of dried milk as an alternative to chcesemaking was a matter that had received a great deal of attention throughout the country. It had an important bearing on tho milk supplies to towns and cities. If it was going to serve a useful purposo for towns and cities, not only must the milk be dried, but pn up in such a form as that it can bo dealt with by tho retail trade and so reach tho consumer. That would open up a big problem for the creameries. A limited number of creamieries might tackle tho question of trying to put it up in casks of lcwt for distribution to manufacturing firms, but it was a different matter to put up the dried milk in lib and £lb packets, so that it might reach the ordinary consumer. Another aspect of the question was this—tho outlet for dried milk was rather limited, where as cheese was in demand. This year Ireland had exported 15,000 tons of cheese. If oven a quarter of that amount had been turned into dried milk it would have been difficult to find a market for it. Nevertheless, dried milk was an industry which the creameries should tackle, for the first object ought to be the supply of those who needed it, especially in winter time. The next point was the necessity of producing butter of tho finest quality. For a new industry, chcesemaking was a great success, and all those who are engaged in it had reason to be proud of it. Tho future of the industry would depend very largely upon tho quality of the article turned out. Ho recommended that these questions should be considered by creamery conferences in the South. In the summer 1 1-8 lb of dried milk could be produced from h. gallon of whole milk. It could be brought back again to milk by adding the requisite quantity of water. Dried milk could keep for three or four months if it were put up in sealed packages.