The Rural Voice, 1983-10, Page 51DETONATOR DAN
Agriculture Commission 1881
The Cheese Industry
by Detonator Dan
The Ontario Agriculture Commis-
sion was formed to inquire into the
resources, progress, and condition of
Ontario agriculture. The report was
released in 1881. This month we will
share the Commissions evidence on
the dairy industry as it relates to
cheese.
Cheese -making was in a stage of
very rapid development in the mid
1800's. During 1857, one hundred
and twenty four cwt. of cheese was
exported, and by 1879, forty three
thousand cwt. found its way to world
markets.
A Harvey Farrington, originally of
New York, settled in Oxford county
and proceeded to set up "cheese fac-
tories." About two years later, in
1866, Ketcham Graham built the first
cheese factory in Hastings county. By
1881, according to the Commissions
evidence, over five hundred cheese
factories existed in the province of
Ontario. Most of these factories were
owned by farmer co-operatives.
The major problem that existed,
was manufacturing cheese with con-
sistent grade and quality. The recom-
mendations made to the Commission
were that cheese factories generally,
be managed by one overseeing com-
mittee, so that all cheese would be the
same. (Well now we have managed to
do just that in this province, a few
large corporate -owned cheese fac-
tories, manufacturing a cheese of
consistent grade, quality and taste.
The present system has lead to
manufacturing flat, bland tasteless
cheese with no room left for the en-
trepreneur to provide something new
and exciting. Now, a major brand
label is selling `light cheese'. Shades
of corporate beer company advertis-
ing).
MacPherson of Glengarry operated
thirteen factories. He received one
and one half cents per pound for his
cheese, and that price covered
manufacturing, selling, boxing, ac-
counting, and paying dividends. Mac-
Pherson suggested as did others,that
uniformity of product was essential
with quality being of prime impor-
tance (Do you suppose that food
manufacturing corporations of 1983
put quality ahead of corporate pro-
fits?).
The quality of Ontario cheese did
improve and during 1879, our own
cheddar won many international
competitions.
The Association of dairymen con-
cerned themselves with the produc-
tion of cheese first,and butter second.
The Association stressed the impor-
tance of well-managed herds as being
the most important aspect of good
cheese production. They even sug-
gested that a good stable, warm and
well -ventilated ,was of prime impor-
tance to herd health. More and more
farmers were now building barns with
basements, i.e. stables.
The Commission's evidence sug-
gests that one particular head of six-
teen cows averaged six thousand
pounds of milk and that provided
three hundred pounds of cheese per
cow.
Serious dairy farmers of the 1880's
looked for the following points in a
good dairy cow "pointed head and
neck, loose skin, wedge-shaped body,
heavy hind quarters, slim tail and
docile eyes!" It was suggested that
the dairy cow be looked upon as a
machine to turn not only coarse
cheap feed into milk but also use high
value pea corn and hay crops effi-
ciently.
To make good cheese, the im-
mediate cooling of the milk at the
farm level was essential. Cold water
was the cooling medium and a cool
milk temperature of sixty degrees was
desired. A long -handled dipper was
used to aerate the milk, to speed cool-
ing and drive off injurious gases.
Once per day the milk was hauled to
the factories.
I wonder if the farmers of 1881
could ever have envisioned the highly
sophisticated and automated dairy
systems that exist today?
Next month, we consider that other
great dairy product, butter.0
Detonator Dan la pseu(/onrm as you
ma, hate L'N('SS('(// n u pru(vhvnL'
,ureter to the l'nnn(ln(I of Colborne
loicn,htt' l/in.ut I nun„
Chartered Accountants
P.O. Box 1690.
497 Main Street,
EXETER. Ontario NOM 1 So
(519) 235-0101
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We have
all the requirements
for
Handling
Drying
& Storing
your
CORN
Location:
Junction
Hwy. 21 & Hwy. 86
R.R. 3,
Goderich.
Ontario
519-395-3300
Division of
PARRISH & HEIMBECKER LTD.
THE RURAL VOICE OCTOBER 1983 PG 49