THE DAIRYING INDUSTRY.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 34, 17 March 1914, Page 11 (Supplement)

THE DAIRYING INDUSTRY.

SEFTON CO-OPERATIVE FACTORY AtSefton, some eight miles north of Eangiora, is situated one of the oldestestablished butter factories in the Dominion, certainly one of the earliest cooperative ventures in New Zealand; Twenty-six years ago the Sefton Mutual Dairy Produce Association, Ltd., was successfully launched, after strenuous labours on-the part of the promoters, ; jifrhq foresaw in jthe admirable flats which slope down from railway line to seaboard, a district which provided all the essentials for a successful dairying district.: - Mr*A. M'Lean, who is stiH at the Head of the company, was pne of the pioneers of the factory, and it must "be pleasing indeed to all those who have lived until now to witness the presentday prosperity of the district which the .factory serves, knowing how largely the successful establishment of the J 'dairying industry has contributed to that prosperity. ; After several years of severe struggling which they had in common with .every other contemporary dairying venture, whether proprietary or co-opera-tive, success came. The business has grown from a very modest tonnage until last year it placed some £15,790 7/- in the pockets of the milk suppliers. When the relative labour required is fully considered, lamb-fattening is practically as | profitable as dairying, that is with the enhanced prices ruling for lamb this last year-or so, and this fact is reflected in the make of the factory. During the yeari 1011-1912 181} tons of butter were i manufactured, but the year following ] this decreased to 165J tons. Of course the more rigorous climatic conditions of last year are responsible for a proportion of the decrease, but this year the I

of suppliers has again dropped slightly, so that the butter manufactured will not go above last year's tally, even if it reaches it. At present there are 121 suppliers to the factory and its three creameries, situated at Leithfield, [Woodend, and Drabble's corner. The detailed supply at the several receiving Stations during the past two seasons was as follows: — ■ 1911-12 1912-13 Befton ~ .. 3,069,800 2,803,528 Woodend .. 2,613,969 2,627,067 Leithfield .. 1,308,649 1,111,183 Drabble's Corner 2,085,555 1,278,194 Dairying calls for up-to-dateness more so than any of our farming industries, and the factory in general shows that the directors have always had this fact steadily in mind. Even in the "star" dairying districts of the North Island there are very few brick but the directors at Sefton the old wooden structure of twenty odd years ago with a substantial building of the more lasting some ten y«ara ago. jThe re-

, home-separated cream runs into many thousands of pounds yearly. Closely allied to the dairying industry is that of pork raising. At prices ruling,, this business is a payable one, and is an excellent outlet for damaged and. poor samples of barley, etc. The number of baconers put through the Eangiora saleyards yearly demonstrates that the bacon industry means a good deal to the district. In the course of a year it must mean an income of many thousands of pounds. Certainly it could be extended considerably.