DAIRY RESEARCH
WORK IN AMERICA
PROFESSOR’S OBSERVATIONS
Delivering his presidential address at the opening of the annual conference of the New Zealand Dairy Research Association, at the Dairy Research Institute, this morning, Professor IV. Eiddet, director of tbe institute, related a number of interesting observations he had made in his recent tour through America, his remarks being mainly confined to dairy science research there.
Colleges of agriculture in the various States were responsible for instruction in agriculture and its allied subjects, said the speaker Attached to each of tlie colleges was an experimental station, as an integral part of the college, hut not, however, financed by the same source. The experimental stations carried out the research work for each of their States. The State Departments of Agriculture were only administrative bodies, the reason being that whenever there was a change in tbe political party in power the whole of the service changed also, so that under those conditions there would not be continuity of research or instruction if the research was carried on under the direction of the departmental officers. The work was thus done by the colleges, and was carried out mainly by men engaged in teaching. The result was a very severe strain, and it was to be seen in some cases that more attention was paid to teaching than research work, while in others again, the two were carried on simultaneously. Research work was not carried on extensively by men employed for that purpose hut by the students. Whether that state of affairs wa.s wise or not was open to question. WELL EQUIPPED.
The institutions were exceedingly well equipped. and the colleges gave instruction for short courses (a week or a month), or for degree courses, and if the student was entering teaching avenues he was generally expected to go on to his doctorate, the speaker said. The amount of dairy instruction given was much less than in this country. Apart from the experimental side of the work, a considerable amount was done by commercial concerns, that being under the direction of a university graduate. There was no organisation in the dairy industry, such as we knew it, dealing with the industry as a whole, concerns interested in the production of particular lines employing their own men. The sale of liquid miik was probably the most important factor in the American dairy industry because it was one of national importance, Professor R-iddet commented. Forty per cent, of the total milk used in the country .was consumed in liquid foun, and all milk in the East and the \\ est w r as used in that manner. In tbe Middle West there was made a greater quantity of butter and cheese. The butter industry was centred mainly in the'States of Minnesota, lowa and Wisconsin. The cream came very largely from mixed farms, and was looked upon as a useful supplement to fanning, not as a main item or production. The result was that the factories, which were mostly owned by proprietary concerns, could not be as hard on the farmer in demanding high quality as they could hero. Cooperation was not nearly so much in evidence as in New Zealand, and the competition among the factories for supply was very keen. The quality or the cream supplied was far below the quality of that used in New Zealand, being far from good on the average, and tallowy butter was very common. The butter and cheese factories were relatively small and their equipment antiquated, to New Zealand standardS’ HIGH MILK QUALITY. In the production of liquid milk, however, the speaker proceeded, America led the world. The quality of that milk was exceedingly high and the conditions under which it was produced were exceedingly good. The annual consumption of milk was 35 imperial gallons per head of the population, and that lugn figure was a reflection of the high quality. It was possible that perhaps the conditions of control bad been carried a little too far. Each municipality had its own standards and the result was that when a concern was supplying three municipalities, that concern had to comply with three different sets or standards. From the New Zealand point of view it might be bettei it tlie industry in that regard was viewed from a national point. . The type of research work being carried was a reflection of the market demands, said Professor Riddet. Most of the work was in relation to market milk. Tlie greater number of tlie research stations were carrying on investigations into the flavour of milk. In California, for instance, there was an investigation proceeding on alfalfa taint in milk, which was very similar to the clover taint in milk experienced in some districts in New Zealand. There was also research going on as to the nutritional value of milk when produced from certain types of feed, while another avenue was the reduction of solids other than fat in milk under certain conditions. The amount of research carried out in respect of cheese was not very extensive, because the cheese industry was not a very important feature of the dairy industry as a whole. The colleges, however, prided themselves on the production of a new type of cheese every year and in one instance considerable progress had been made in tlie production of a new Roclifort clieese. .
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Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 210, 5 August 1937, Page 8
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891DAIRY RESEARCH Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 210, 5 August 1937, Page 8
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