Modern Irish Dairy Products

March 28, 2012

Perhaps the most important part of any industry is the product being produced.  In the dairy industry, milk is being used in an overwhelming number of food products in our lives because it is so nutritionally valuable.  Ireland has actually become one of the world's leading producers of infant nutritional products and accounts for 15% of the global supply of infant formula and 80% of all of their dairy production is exported (most being in the form of butter). Outside of their everyday dairy needs, Kerrygold and Bailey's are two huge dairy production facilities.  Unlike the United States, Irish milk can be traced to a much smaller number of processing locations.  Where in the U.S. we have many different brands and local companies for milk processing, Ireland has a select few that were chosen during the Co-operative consolidation.

Kerrygold is the premier brand of Irish butter boasting of being able to turn the luscious green of Ireland's landscape into the golden richness of their fine butter.  According to their website, the Irish Dairy Industry is involved in 80 markets across the world and all Irish butter carries their seal.  They have recently developed several lines of butters and cheeses--some of which can be found in markets in the United States.

Bailey's Irish Cream also plays a significant role in the Dairy Industry of Ireland.  Since 1983 they have helped sponsor the Bailey's Champion Cow Competition in celebration of their cream supply.

Approximately 250 million liters of milk per year are needed to make Baileys which equates to the annual output of about 40,000 dairy cows.  Baileys is sold in 170 markets today and is the world's No 1 selling liqueur brand.

To enter cows must first have produced 500kgs of butterfat and protein in a 305 day lactation (except for the heifer in milk awards). A 10% extra weighting is being given to the protein portion of the entry standard.  Entrants are required to complete an entry form which this year should include a recent, full body picture of their cow in electronic format.  This is the competition in search of the prestigious "finest dairy cow in Ireland"

Citations:

Kerrygold. (2012).  Retrieved March 28, 2012, from, http://www.kerrygold.com/

Baileys Irish Champion at Virginia Agricultural Show Society. (2007).  Retrieved March 23, 2012, from, http://www.ihfa.ie/page.aspx?page_id=71

Modern Dairies

March 21, 2012

A lot has changed in the dairy industry from the mid-20th century--and these changes have been occurring everywhere.  In a matter of a century, we have developed from self-sustaining families with a single dairy cow to specializing dairy farms with some farms taking care of herds of 100 or more cows.  Milking by hand quickly developed into milking machines of various types that can now be replaced with robotic milkers.  The trend in the United States has been pointing toward fewer dairies producing greater amounts of product.  This means better production techniques/genetics for the expanding dairy farms.  My family's dairy farm recently made an expansion to a larger size in 2006 with a new barn and milking parlor.

There are many factors that contribute to new technologies actually benefiting a farmer rather than sinking them into irreversible debt. The state of the economy, milk prices and the amount of renovations necessary all dictate how much a farmer can invest in his farm.  For example, robotic milkers are one of the latest technologies for dairy farms because they milk the cow and maintain a lot of the records so the farmer can be more proactive about other aspects of the cows health and spend more time with other farm activities.  In the county in Pennsylvania where I am from, there are six robotic milking units currently in use.  In Ireland, there are a total of four farms with robotic milking systems. This could be because they are financially unable to make that step or because they are a dairying system that predominantly relies on grazing.

 The link (below) is a video made by the The National Dairy Council of an interview about new technologies in Irish dairying.  The Murphy's farm is a four-generation, 53 acre dairy farm and they milk a 40 cow herd.

http://www.ndc.ie/about/tv.asp?movie=5

Today, Ireland’s dairy industry has regained its position in the forefront of world dairy

processors. With a turnover of €3.4 billion, €2.5 billion of which derives from exports,

and 7,000 direct employees, dairy processing is one of Ireland’s key exporting industries

again and one of our biggest employers. Furthermore, it supports 19,000 dairy farmers

and accounts for 30% of Ireland’s agricultural output.

Citations:

O’Callaghan, Eddie. (2011).  Minimising labour in milking.  Agriculture and Food Development Authority.  Retrieved March 21, 2012, from, http://www.teagasc.ie/publications/nlmc2000/paper1.asp

History of Dairying in Ireland. Irish Dairy Board. (2012).  Retrieved March 21, 2012, from, http://www.idb.ie/section/HistoryofDairyinginIreland

The National Dairy Council. (2012).  Retrieved April 9, 2012, from http://www.ndc.ie/

Co-operative Production

March 14, 2012

A large part of the dairy industry in the United States is the functioning cooperatives that individual dairy farmers work with.  Dairy herds are larger than they ever were before and it makes more sense to ship milk to a cooperative that can turn the milk into a good that can be sold to the public.  Some farmers have found that producing an "on-farm good," like cheese, helps them remain more financially stable.  Most, however, ship their milk to a particular processing plant that utilizes the liquid in various products and then sells them on a larger marketplace.  

I found, when I was researching dairy production in the 20th century, that Ireland has a similar system that was developed for similar reasons.  The need to develop a product for market and have the product shipped to a wider audience made it necessary for producers to group together.  Butter was a major export in Ireland, and the technologies used to produce butter the best were expensive.  Creameries found that it was more efficient for them to share a common separator to produce their butter.

Even into the 1950's, the Irish dairy industry was very underdeveloped.  At this point, most of the milk production was used to produce butter directly on the farms.   The farms were only able to provide a minimal supply of milk during only two months of the year and were getting less than two old pence per pint.  In the Fennor Co-operative Dairy Society in 1951, for example, there were 320 farms averaging seven cows per farm .  Only five of these farms had milking machines. 

Between 1954 and 1965, the overall number of farms decreased, but the farm productivity increased and 80 farms had milk machines.  By this point, an appointment of experts set out to examine the future of the dairy industry in Ireland in preparation of Ireland's entry into the European Community.  They found that there were too many small and inefficient creameries and recommended forming larger units.

The above images show what it was like milking a cow by hand.  Knowing what it is like to milk a cow with a milking machine, it would be pretty difficult to go back to milking like this.

Citations:

Breathnach, Proinnsias.  The evolution of the spatial structure of the Irish dairy processing industry.  Retrieved March 14, 2012, from http://www.ucd.ie/gsi/pdf/33-2/dairy.pdf

 http://www.askaboutireland.ie/learning-zone/primary-students/looking-at-places/leitrim/farming-in-leitrim/womens-work/

 

March 1, 2012

Dairy Diets

I grew up in a family that loves to cook.  We have had recipes passed down through the generations and from an early age I was taught how to make good food with recipes passed down through the generations.  Living on a farm, we always used the freshest ingredients because we always had a nearly endless supply of milk--unless the milkman picked it up after my brothers had a milk chugging contest.  Naturally, I was interested to find out how the Irish ate.  Often, when you think about early Ireland, you think of potatoes, potatoes, potatoes...but what about all of those cows?

Milk was really important and was consumed similarly to how we use it now; drunk fresh, eaten as curds, or made into cheeses and butter.  The curds were called whitemeats and were an important source of protein in their diets.  The whey that was leftover from this process was called "green milk" and was given to slaves and workers.

As I was researching, I was pretty surprised and found it really interesting how clever and resourceful they were.  Without a lot of the basic scientific knowledge that we have now, they figured out how they could preserve their foods.  Butter, for example, was allowed to go rancid and was then stored in barrels in bogs.  Cheese, the most common method of preserving dairy was very common.  They knew that the use of rennet from the stomachs of milk fed animals would produce the cheese, so they cut off a small piece of the bag in the stomach and boiled it in water to produce the rennet.

5,000 year old 

Bog Butter

One use of milk that is still popular today used Irish Moss (seaweed).  Milk would be boiled with the seaweed and allowed to thicken then mixed with honey and eaten after the meal as a sweet course with season fruits.  Considering that one of its main ingredients is seaweed, I'm not sure it is something that I would enjoy very much.  But, nonetheless, I found a recipe for it.

You will start off by washing the Irish moss drink in your sink. Wash thoroughly to remove all the sand and any other unwanted things that may be attached to the seaweed. Bring the water to a boil on the stove and add the washed seaweed to it. Add the gum Arabic, isinglass and linseed to the pot as well.

Let the pot stay on the stove until everything dissolves into the water except for the seaweed. This should take about an hour’s time. Next strain the liquid into another clean container while taking out the Irish moss trash from it. Now you will add the remaining ingredients to the mixture and taste the drink to see if it has the desired flavor. Add what you think is lacking to get the Irish moss drink to taste as you like it. The Irish moss drink is served chilled so you should keep it in the refrigerator for at least four hours before serving.

Citations:

Linnane, J. (2000). A History of Irish Cuisine. Retrieved February 22, 2012, from Before and after the potato: http://www.ravensgard.org/prdunham/irishfood.html

Bog Butter find from Co. Offaly. (2011, April 28). Retrieved March 1, 2012, from Irish Archaeology: http://irisharchaeology.ie/2011/04/bog-butter/

Recipe for Irish Moss Drink. (2010, March 29). Retrieved March 1, 2012, from Country facts: The world at your fingertips: http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/articles/ireland/recipe-for-irish-moss-drink/1993