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Show f Demand For Cheese Grows More people are wanting and eating cheese. To continue to meet that growing demand, milk producers must be paid on the basis of the cheese yield of their milk. Dr. C. A. Ernstrom, head, Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Utah State University, said he believes that is the best way to encourage dairymen to breed and feed their cows to produce the high milk solids needed in making cheese. He pointed out that milk solids, including protein, fat, lactose and minerals; are required to produce cheese. The USU food scientist said there has been enough research and experience to be able to predict with confidence the cheese yield when the protein and fat content of the milk is known. He is suggesting cheese manufacturing plants test the milk for protein and fat and pay producers for cheese milk on the basis of the amount of cheese expected from 100 pounds of their milk. Multiplying that yield by an established value for the milk raw product in one pound of cheese would give the price received by the producer. Ernstrom said the price under this system would more nearly represent the true worth of the milk for cheese making than past systems that paid only for volume of milk or present systems. Most current pricing systems for cheese milk pay a base price for milk that tests 3.5-percent fat plus a differential for fat or protein. He claims that paying for milk used in making cheese can be done more equitably under the proposed system. Paying on the basis of cheese yield would benefit the processor, the producer and the consumer. Some cheese plants, he noted, have gotten into financial difficulty from paying more for milk low in solids than it's worth for cheese making. On the other hand, producers often aren't being paid enough incentive for the high solids to encourage them to manage their dairy herds to produce that kind of milk. The food scientist said A there is a difference between the low-fat fluid milk that many consumer's choose fa their tables and the milk high in solids needed for cheese production. Growing taste for cheese has resulted in consumption doubling in recent years. Cheese is winning a jrominent place on family tables both as a select food in its own right and as an alternative for meat as a protein source in the diet. Proper pricing for the milk can help assure a plentiful cheese supply. |
