THE QUALITY OF OUR MILK
SIR, With last year's monthly sales of liquid milk averaging nearly thirty million gallons more than in 1939, it would appear at first sight that milk production in this country is making good headway. How- ever, every housewife is well aware that her morning bottle of milk contains a much thinner layer of cream on it than in pre-war days. Her first reaction is, no doubt, that somewhere along the line between the byre and her doorstep some fiddle has been going on. But, as she is unable to change her milkman, she feels she cannot do much about it and leaves it at that. This assumption is, however, false. It is the cow which is generally blameworthy. Statistics show that the quality of milk has declined during the last decade. A recent qualitative analysis of the present-day product revealed that the fat content is 0.15 per cent., and the protein content 0.20 per cent. below what is considered to be a good average standard of milk. Small though these figures may appear, they represent a serious decrease in the food value of an essential source of nutriment for growing children. To the increased demand for milk can be attributed the main reason for this decline in quality. Cattle have been bred to produce large quantities of milk regardless of quality.
Pedigree bulls, capable of siring high-yielding cows—both in quality and quantity—cost large sums of money and are far beyond the means of the average owner of a small dairy farm. Consequently, during the last few years more and more use has been made of Friesian and other less expensive strains of bulls, with the result that the food value of our daily milk has decreased. Shortage of shipping space during the war and subsequently of dollars have had their effects. Since 1939 imports of cattle food have gradually dwindled, and last year's hot, dry summer, pleasant though it may have seemed to the general public, necessitated the using up of cattle-food concentrates which should have been reserved for winter feeding, making the outlook for this coming year even grimmer than last.
The recent trade agreement with Russia and the announcement of the Government's plan to assist farmers will, no doubt, when they come into operation, do much to alleviate the situation, but only on a short- term basis. Real hope for the future lies in the breeding of better cattle capable of producing sufficient quantities of grade " A " milk. A glimpse of steps already taken in this direction was afforded at the Olympia Dairy Show held last October, when the Milk Marketing Board exhibited details of their artificial insemination scheme, which was first started on a commercial basis in this country in 1942. This scheme has shown very satisfactory progress. A small farmer can now indirectly procure, for a membership fee of five shillings and a charge of twenty-five shillings kit each successful insemination, the services of some of the finest bulls in the country. The Milk Marketing Board's stock includes Guernseys, Jerseys, North Devons and Shorthorns, breeds noted for their siring of high milk-yielding cows, and all of which are meticulously cared for under ideal conditions to ensure that their breeding propensities are maintained. At present the yearly average yield of each cow is a little over 500 gallons. A good beast should produce 1,000 gallons ; and an increase of seventy to eighty gallons per animal would mean a sufficiency of milk for everybody. The abolition of the present system of retail distribu- tion which prevents the housewife from changing her milkman, should she be dissatisfied with his product, would ensure competition, with its resultant benefits to the consumer. Provided, of course, she has means of verifying the quality of the article she is buying and insists on receiv-
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