asked the Minister for Agriculture whether his attention has been drawn to experiments conducted in Great Britain with a view to ascertaining the tendency of beet pulp to taint the milk of cows consuming it, and whether he will cause similar experiments to be made here with the beet pulp supplied by Comhlucht Siúicre Eireann, and if he will also consider the desirability of making similar experiments with beet tops and leaves.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Beet Pulp Tendency to Taint Milk.
Dr. Ryan
I am aware that experiments have been conducted in Great Britain with a view to ascertaining the tendency of molassed sugar beet pulp to taint milk. Experiments with molassed sugar beet pulp were conducted on milch cows at the Department's agricultural schools at Athenry, Ballyhaise and Clonakilty during 1931 and repeated in 1932 and 1933. The report, which was published in the Department's Journal, indicated that no taint could be detected in the milk of the animals under experiment. Beet pulp has been fed to milch cows by farmers throughout the country and no case of tainted milk has been brought to the notice of the Department. In these circumstances it is not proposed to repeat the experiments in question.
I am aware that sugar beet tops impart a slight flavour to milk, but, as all farmers are aware, this applies also to root crops generally, and provided sugar beet tops are used in a reasonably fresh condition the flavour in question is not nearly so pronounced as that imparted by cabbages and particularly by swedes. The necessity for experiments does not, therefore, arise.