DAIRYING YEAR.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 206, 1 September 1933, Page 12

DAIRYING YEAR.

RECORD PRODUCTION. THE PROPOSED QUOTA. WEED OF HIGH QUALITY. The Dairy Produce Board, which met in Wellington last week, approved the annual report and balance-sheet. The financial statement showed that the export levy on butter and cheese for the year ended July 31 yielded £50,758 1/, and interest from investments £105 0/2, making a total income of £50,803 1/2. The expenses of the board under tho heading of management were: For the head office in New Zealand, £5049 18/1; London office, £8373 15/8. Included in tho London office amount was £3734 1/4 for exchange on remittances to London for management and for advertising expenditure. Other expenses, including shipping work at branches, shipping supervision, board meeting, and other expenses, .totalled £13,044 7/7. In addition the sum of £3200 was spent on research at Massey College, and £12,219 11/2 in advertising New Zealand butter and cheese in Great Britain, which with a small balance of £15 7/9 of herdtesting subsidy brought the total expenditure to £42,329 13/9. The excess of income over expenditure of £8533 7/5 has been transferred to accumulated fund, bringing this up to £14,782 15/3. Tho levy for the year just ended was , at the rate of 1-32* of a penny per lb , on butter and 1-G4 of a penny per lb on , cheese. As from August 1, 1933, it has j been decided to raise the levy to 3-G4 of , a penny per lb on butter and 3-128 of a s penny per lb on cheese, so as to enable an extension in the advertising work in j the United Kingdom to bo carried out. j

Output and Quality. The board reports a record season for production. On a butterfat basis the increase for the twelve months was 20.35 per cent. The number of cows milked was estimated at 1,820,600, compared with 1,702,070 actual for 1932. Increase in the butterfat for the past year over that of 1931-32 was 22.63 per cent, and in cheese 14.52 per cent. Dealing with the quality of butter pro-' duced, the board reports that, notwithstanding the substantial increase in production of butter, "quality has been more than maintained. There has been an increase of 2J per cent in the percentage of finest grade. To turn out 80 per cent finest grade in an export of over 120,000 tons of butter is a praiseworthy performance. The average grade for the whole Dominion also evidences a slight improvement, and this in spite of greater difficulty with feed flavours consequent on the rank growth of pastures in the more favoured dairy districts. "The reports from the United Kingdom relating to New Zealand cheese have been more favourable than for some years. Credit is due to factory managers in this connection, as the season, because of more than the usual share of hot weather and rank feed, has been trying from a cheese-maker's point of view. It is admitted that there is still considerable room for improvement. . . ." Milk Grading. Reference is made to the new grading regulations for milk supplied to cheese factories, and the board believes that as a result "there will be a distinct improvement in the quality of milk delivered to cheese factories, with a resultant better cheese." Reporting on the quality of butter and cheese exported, the board reviews the action it took in control of all exports of secondary, butters, consigning them to one firm in the United Kingdom, such butters to be sold on an undertaking being given that they should not find their way to the retailers' counter as New Zealand butter. Secondary butters in thesd circumstances include all creamery butter' below first grade and whey and milled butter. .

Restriction of Exports. Dealing with the export of produce the hoard expresses some concern as to : the future of the British, the only free and open, market for its produce. It states that in respect to quotas and restrictions there has been "no easement in that position, hut rather the reverse. For instance, the New Zealand-Canadian Treaty, which it wa*s hoped would encourage shipments of butter to that Dominion, has proved to be of but little value, as it contained a provision permitting the Canadian Government to practically prohibit export when it considered that there was sufficient Canadian butter to supply the local requirements. This condition became operative during the season which has just closed." The Ottawa discussions and agreement are reviewed at length, and the proposal to impose a quota on New Zealand . dairy produce to bo exported to Great Britain is als*o dealt with, and it is remarked that automatic restrictions in the production of dairy produce in countries where other classes of farming can be carried on is certain as long as the present low prices of dairy produce maintain. The reduction of 20 per cent in the export of dairy produce from Continental countries proves this. '.•Unfortunately in New Zealand there is practically no possibility of changing with advantage from dairying to other classes of farming. The great need in this Dominion is to have the quality so high and the cost of production so low that the complete quantity which is produced can be marketed on a satisfactory basis. The dairy farmer's lot is in all truth sufficiently difficult at present without adding the burden of restricting his production."