COMPULSORY MILK GRADING.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume LV, Issue 5689, 7 June 1932, Page 1

COMPULSORY MILK GRADING.

DIFFERENTIAL PAYMENTS TO SUPPLIERS. SOUTH JSILIAiNID DAIRY TIOIN APRROiVES. ' The South' Island Dairy Association, ' which met in Dunedin last week a-p- ---' proved of the alteration to the regulations recently enacted that differen- | j tfal payments be made to milk sup- ' uliers according to the grade of miilk 1 s-upplied. Mr J. R. Th'aciker, of Gkain's Bay, 1 who is a member of the executive and a past president of the Association, in speakimg on tbiLs matter said that sitoce the compulsory grading had been withdrawn the quality o(f out cheese for ex-port had dropped- badiy and whereas last season 6.7 per cent, of the cheese exported was graded finest, duriing the past season only 21' •per cent, was 'finest. This was very j d'dtrimerat'al to the • industry, but' he iwas pleased) to say the South Island cheese h'ad maintained their standard for export muchi better than the North Islland. | PRHSffiD'ENITiS' RIEIPIOIRrr. j The President (Mir H. J. Middileton) . in 'Ms annual report, re'ferred to the gradling question a® folfltoiws : — | "The grading of milk wi'th di'fferenr ti'a-1 payments was> an important, question. before .the industry at the present time. Year after year this ques- , tion had been discussed at the association's conference, and resoluitions had been carried 1 unanimously urging the Daiiry Division to bring down regulations to giVe effect to the proposal. They would remember what ( Mr Singleton had 1 told them last year on this sulbjec't. It was very gratify- ! ing to know his opinion; but the 'extraordinary thing was that, holding j these viiews, the department did not | seem to have got very far. The department had been amazingly deliiiber- [ ate, but at length it had made a for- , wia;rd moive a feiw months ago, when regulations' had 1 been introduced sjiirjaikiing; tentatively;» the grading of i milk .compulsory at aill factories. The work Wi&s beinig carried out- by the factory managers, and all of them with whom he bad 'since come in contact were more than pl'ea'sed with .the results. He hoped that- Mr Slinlgletion would tefl-'l the conference what ' conclusions hi's dtepartaent had' ar- , I r'iVed ait and iff he was satisified that | tihe regnlatiioms were in the interests 'of the industry and that differential payments .were necessary to make them fuiil-y effective."* GRADEBNIG REKJUDATTONiS. The executive sulhmiitited t'he folloiwirg remit; —-That, the milk grading regulations recently enacted be ' amended l so that ilt wilil be compulsory on factory companies to maike differential payments to- suppliers accord 1 - ing to the grade of the milik. j The chairman,, in moving the adoption of the remit, said th'at, while he iwianted to thank the division for having .made a small step forward, he hoped' that i't would go a great deal further. He had di's'cussed the matter with a niimlber af mianagers, and ail of them had been enthusiastically in favour of milik 'grading. He failed to see why the whole industry should suffer for a iferw factories that would not cDo their dluty. He had difficulty in seeing why the department had been so mtactant- to bring in -the regulation suggested. The same recommendation had .been passed by both the South and North Island conferences, but the department had decided to take a referendum to conj firm the opinion, expressed l by the conferences. 'It had not been a demo-' | cratic referendum' becaiuse only the . facitoiries h'ad been included'. I Mr W. M. ISinglieton. (director of the ! Dai : ry Division of the Department of Agriculture) said l that* while a resolution in favour of compu-ilscry grading had been passed unanimously ait the South Island conference of last year, 1 it had been, .carried at' the North Isl'and. conference by only 1(M votes t'o 100. He had 1 felit therefore, that it was necessary to get moire information frorn companies, and he took full responsibility for the circular that had ibeen sent oult. The responr ses had,sh'oiwn tbait even the South Island was not unanimous. He thought that the Government had ——I————— ——H

been rilght in bringing in grading on a' compulsory basis as a try-ouit for the balance of the season. The de- j partment bad nothing to, regret, and it appreciated', very much the assist*ance of factory managers. He was .'not able to say what effect' the regulations had h'ad on the cheese exported as supplies h'ad not yet arrived' at Home. | A delegate said that if differential payments were made, some suppliers Would separate their own milik and send the cream to the butter fac- , tories. j After further opposition to tihe remi't had' been expressed Mir C. R Smith said that the first diffifcuUty in the industry was to get good! milk. He appealed to delegates to support the remit and not to undo the work of years past, Mr Singleton said that for the , benefit of those factories that were afraid of llosi'ng suppliers if differential peyments -were made the department was prepared! to introduce a regulation providing that, except during June -and Jully it would not. be lawful' for any supplier to leave a milk receiving company without the consent of the directorate or proprietor as- between August 1 and M!ay oil. .The department did not. want to influence anyone. It wtated! to leave ' the question entirely to the suppliers. : In reply to a question from -the ' chairman Mr W. lorns (Chairman of the Dairy Conitrol Board) said that the board was unanimously in favour of miilk grading and differential; payment, 'but he thought that the National Dairy Association would faivour a postponement of differential payments for U2 months. Nteiw Zealand must allways endeavour to export the best quality possible, and scientists had' stated that the shortest cut to an improvement was' by milk grading. They must not, however, take the risk of penalising small! factories undfcdy. Another delegate said that he rep'resenited a bush factory, and he thought that several small factories Would "go. out" if differentiall pay-.. men ts were made. The conference affirmed the principle of milk grading, and' it. was dieceded to tiake the vote on the remit on a tomiaige basis. The voting was as follwsiifor differential payment, 40f factories (9626 tons) ; against, 16 factories (21>69 tons). The conference also endorsed the .regulation outlined by M.r Singleton referring to suppliers leaving fao tories. QUALITY OIF CHEESE. The fol!iofwin,g remit was submitted by the executive: —That this conference, recognising the urgent need for improvement in the quality of much of the Dominion,'© cheese., re- i quests the Dairy Division and the Dairy Produce Board to take immed- < iiate steps wiith a view otf bringilng into operation, as -from the commence ment of next season, a national scheme of premium payments for qu'ality cheese, based o,n the grading points, a tevy to be imposed on all export cheese from the Dominion to provide the funds necessary for the •purpose. 'Mr J. R. Thacker moved the adoption of this remit oni behalf of the executive. He said that since 1'92&-07 the grade had gone down considerably. They must have the best quality in -the cheese they sent to Britain, so that they would get better monetary returns. The only way to do this was by improving the quality, and the best way to do this was by milik grading. Mr W. Bryant seconded the motion. A' member s'aid that high grade cheese would naturailfly command a High price in the Home market. He was opposed to the remit as it stood. The (R'atanuli delegate said! he must oppose the remit. His factory had no pasteurises. iMr Dunliop said he was surprised that any man in the South Island 1 should oppose such a remit. The South Island factories Would have the opportunity cf getting money at the expense of the 'North Island factories.—■ (Laughter.) The chairman l painted out that the percentage of finest cheese in the North Islland .wasi only 12 per cent.,' as against 01% per cent, in the South Islland. He said' it would be impossible to exempt the small factories from the effect of the remit. | .Mr Fisher said that the Nfortb Island would' have (to find most of the money iif the remit were given effect 1 to. —'('Laughter.) | The mo'ttion was carried.