1901
2 May 1901
Mudgee District Butter.
In appointing Mr. S. P. Paddison as manager of their factory, the Oakey Creek Dairy Co. evidently secured the right man. Mr. Paddison has only been in charge of their factory for three months, and has already won for them first and champion prizes for butter at the recent Bathurst show. An exhibit of butter from Mr. W. A. Wurth, McDonald's Creek which also looked very good, was at the show. For the champion prize we understand there were fourteen competitors, and the company should justly feel proud in securing it. This is not the only prize that this company has won, as the last manager won a gold medal for them for export butter at the Cootamundra Show, last year1
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1902
20 June 1902
Oakey Creek Dairy Company.
A meeting of the Oakey Creek Dairy Co., Ltd., was held at the Company's office on the 12th instant. Several of the shareholders were away on business, and consequently only a small number appeared. The chairman briefly outlined the object of the meeting, viz., the erection of a separating station at Limestone, several residents of Limestone were present, and offered liberal support to the movement. The proceedings were most enthusiastic throughout, and over 80 shares were applied for in the room. Mr. S. P. Paddison, the Company's manager, pointed out the benefits of co-operative factories, and instanced several factories which were a success through erecting separating stations. After considerable discussion, the meeting was adjourned, to allow the absent shareholders to be present. This go ahead company will soon be one of the largest companies out of Mudgee2
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31 July 1902
Testing Cows by the Babcock Test.
S. Paddison, Manager Oakey Creek Dairy Co.
[Written for the Guardian).
Amongst a number of dairymen is a prevailing unbelief in the testing of cows' milk. Some will say that the test is unsatisfactory and that the manager of the dairy is favoring some, at the expense of others, in paying for a milk test. In this article I wish to reject this erroneous idea, and to demonstrate to the milk vendor the importance of testing every cow in the herd.
It is a common occurrence to see one or two energetic and progressive dairymen at almost any factory receive an average of fully a penny per gallon more for their milk than other suppliers. To quote an instance of this, for the tenth of May last, one supplier at the factory received 8d per gal while some only received ? per gallon. The supplier referred to has, for some considerable time, been carefully weeding out the unprofitable cows, and filling their places with others which were ? The wisdom of such a ? should be apparent to all follow dairying as a profession. ? the good cow will in nearly all cases have an equally good calf; her milk is worth a penny per gallon more than an ordinary cow's; it takes no more to keep a good one than a bad one; (4) in case the owner wishes to dispose of his herd they will, if noted for high milking capabilities always realise a higher price than others.
It is to the assertion that the manager may favour some, etc., I venture to say that not one manager in a hundred would do so. The manager must make his tests and the return yield correspond with each other, for every drop of milk returned during the month, and any tampering with the tests would go against this object.
To those who are doubtful about the efficiency of the Babcock test indicating the richness of milk, let me here say that month after month at this factory, with a milk supply of several hundred gallons daily, the test and churn yield have been within a few pounds of each other. At some factories at the month's end, if there is a large deficiency in the churn yield compared to the tests, the manager or butter-maker has to make good the excess from his own pocket. How then can there be any favoriteism of tampering with the tests?
The individual tests of cows in the herds that have not been tested will show a great variation the amount of butter-fat. Some will only register 2 per cent, others as high as 5 or 6 per cent of fat. Will it then pay to keep the cow testing 2 per cent, when others will yield twice or thrice the quantity of butter? Unless the cow with a low test be a large milker it certainly will not pay to keep her, and then if she is it should always be the dairyman's aim to have high testing cows and by mating them with bulls that come from a higher class milking strain, endeavor to breed others of the very best testing and milking capabilities. It states 47½lbs. milk (per Curtis and ?eene chart) on a 2 per cent test will make 1lb. of commercial butter, and 26lbs. milk on a 3-6 test for a similar amount. In a thousand tests of the former there are 20-94lbs. butter, in a like quantity of the butter 39-76lbs.
Reckoning that each cow gives ?lbs milk daily - a fair average - ? in 40 days the cows milk, testing 5-6, will produce 18-82lbs. butter more than the cow that tests 2 per cent. If the supplier is paid one shilling per lb. for commercial butter, in every 40 days the ? cow returns him in cash is 10½d more than the 2 per cent cow. If the value of the calf from the former is also taken into consideration - over the value of the latter's calf - the total return will be fully £1 more every forty days.
On suitable dairying land nothing will pay an intelligent man so well as cows, but it must be remembered that they should be good, for there are plenty of cows milked at the present day that are not worth their keep.
In nine cases out of ten it is the fault of the dairymen, or his cows, if his vacation does not pay, not the factory manager's. Very few suppliers will take the trouble to select samples of their cow's milk and have it tested, notwithstanding the manager's willingness to test it free, and also give the suppliers a chart with the tests showing clearly what amount of butter each cow will produce in a given quantity of milk.
The supplier should always recollect that the income of the factory is derived from its butter sales, and that if there is no butter fat in the milk he delivers no manager on earth can extract any from it.
A vast number of dairymen imagine that so long as they can deliver a large quantity of milk they are right. This is one of the greatest mistakes that they can make. No milk can make a good paysheet from milk of a poor test.
If then the supplier wants a good cheque at the end of the month he must deliver milk which tests well, and while he aims at quantity he must also keep a watchful eye on the quality of it3
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1905
17 April 1905
Oakey Park Dairy Co,
The Oakey Park Dairy Co., of which Mr. Paddison is manager, took the special prize at Orange last week for factory butter. Mr. Paddison is to be heartily congratulated upon this further confirmation of his skill4
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