Heard of cows? They’re those big furry animals with long tails and kind faces that eat grass and produce milk. As to the burning question “how does a brown cow give white milk when it only eats green grass?” – well that is a highly complex matter and beyond the scope of this geocache description!
Dairy farming once dominated the economy of Maleny and a butter factory operated in the town until the 1940s. There are still some dairy farms operating in the district and the local milk products are well supported due to its fine quality and taste.
So what happens to milk once it leaves the farm? The following information is from Norco Foods, Lismore, NSW but is typical of milk processing throughout Australia.
“Milk is chilled in bulk refrigerated vats on each farm as soon as the cows are milked. These vats hold the temperature below 4C until the milk is picked up in stainless steel bulk tankers. The tanker driver grades the milk and takes samples for the testing required by the NSW Dairy Corporation.
At the factory, milk is pumped from the road tankers into stainless steel milk silos.
Laboratory tests measure the milk's butterfat and protein content. The results are used in setting the price paid to the dairy farmer. The milk is also subjected to bacteriological analysis and tests to determine its keeping quality.
All milk sold or processed in Australia is pasteurised. During pasteurisation, milk is heated to 72C, held for 15 seconds then cooled back to below 4C. The process destroys any harmful bacteria which may be present, improving both milk's safety and keeping qualities without affecting the flavour, creaminess or calcium levels.
Homogenisation of milk for some end uses ensures products of consistent fat dispersement. This process involves subjecting pasteurised whole milk to pressure which breaks up the fat globules, leaving very small particles which do not agglomerate after the process. This means the cream remains evenly distributed through the milk.
Large stainless steel centrifugal separators are used to separate whole milk to provide the cream and skim milk for further processing (in a 1:9 ratio). When milk is separated, the cream has about 38% butterfat and the skim milk has a butterfat level of less then 0.05%. The cream is used for making butter and ice-cream as well as being packaged for sale.
The skim milk is used to make powder and concentrates which are used in the manufacture of a range of other products such as ice-cream.”
At the published location you will find a wonderful installation loved by the locals dedicated to the humble dairy cow. A local artist who has also been involved in other community art projects in town created it and it was unveiled on 15 December 2009. If you read the plaque you may understand the significance of the different colours used in the artwork. If you come at Christmas time you could see them decorated too! (Given the recent supermarket milk price wars you may appreciate the irony of the proximity to GZ of the business that now stands on the old cattle sale yards!)
The cache is in a very prominent and public location so please be stealthy, but tourists are often stopping here for photos and to admire the sculptures, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble. It is very busy at school times! You are looking for an attractive mint container – have fun and be careful not to step in anything! Please replace exactly as found.
Congratulations to the 'maids-a-milking' Nyssaflutterby, membsec, Net88 and Angela and Dave for the FTF, hope you had fun!