DAIRYING IN TE AWAMUTU.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 303, 22 December 1926, Page 4

DAIRYING IN TE AWAMUTU.

THE FLUSH REACHED. (From Our Own Correspondent.) TE AWAMUTU, Tuesday. In common with other parts of A»»ck» land Province, Te Aw«mutu> district has experienced a remarkably good month for production, and there js every indication that November will be the Hush month of the reason. Had. the London market for butter justified an advance payment in the region of that paid in November last year, the dairy farming community undoubtedly would have spent a merry Christinas: Despite the lower advances,- however, some very- substantial cheques were circulated in the district yesterday, the returns for some of the larger herds running from £175 to *2QO. The firming tendency of they London market during the past 'week' or two created, a. feeling' qf optimism .amongstlocal dairymen, and there, was an impression that. the. advance payments made- yesterday would be on a more liberal scale than laat month. The difficulty, however, is that dairy companies bad to baw? their advances to suppliers upon a "draw" from the Control Hoard of 1/ per lb for finest butter and ll%d for first grade, The board hae intimated that the advance will be increased to 1/2 for finest butter, but only on produce sent to grading stores for export on and after December 4 laat, so that the position concerning November manufacture remains unchanged. An Uncertain Position. . On Saturday last the Control Board stated that London meroha.nt?i had agreed to advance a. further 2d per lb against November butter -in - cool store, and "not as yet shipped." This announcement came too late to enable dairy companies to take .it into consideration when deciding the rate of advance payment to be made, yesterday, and in any case the information available at the moment in connection with this proposal is.so vague that dairy companies cannot act upon it. The point at issue is the exact date" on which the increased payment will commence. Until about ten days ago, practically the whole of November butter was in cool store awaiting'shipment, but considerable quantities have been loaded at Auckland in the interim by the Otaki, Tainui and Mataroa. If these shipments are to participate in the increased rate, the extra payment on November output will be sub« stantial, and it is quite on the cards that some dairy companies may consider making an immediate supplementary payment on the November butterfat"supply. Additional information on this point' is awaited with interest. Market Prospects. The present position on the London market ia being watched eagerly by dairy farmers. Had the low prices ruling in the early months, of this season continued, many farmers would have found it difficult to carry on. The latest quotations show that Danish butter has reached 192/ and New. Zealand controlled butter, after having touched 179/, is now in the region Of 172/, which gives a return of 1/4% per lb, f.o.b. Whether this rise is of a permanent, nature, or is due to a "spurt , ' on the- part of London merchants fulfilling their requirements for the Christmas trade, remains to be seen. .A considerable portion Qf the present season's butter is now afloat, and.if the market remains at its present level for the next two months, Wβ should have «n appreciable effect on the final returns for the 'season. For butter .manufacture, the advance, payments made by companies operating in this district for finest butterfat supplied during November were: New Zealand Co. operative Dairy Co., Ltd. 1/1; Waikato Valley Dairy Co., Ltd., 1/1; Te Awamutu Co-operative Dairy Co., Ltd., 1/1%. For cheese manufacture, the New Zealand Cooperative Dairy Co. advanced 1/2 and Kakepuku Co-operative Dairy Co. 1/1.