COMPETITION AMONG DAIRY FACTORIES.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 17749, 28 April 1923, Page 2

COMPETITION AMONG DAIRY FACTORIES.

10 THB BDITOB OP "THB PBBSS." 5 Sir, — I am pleased to see that Mr W. J. Heney agrees with, me that in the competition among dairy factories and the right of every farmer "to dispose of his cream to which ever company he chooses. . . . lies the source of weakness in the keeping of cream at a high standard." Surely, however, he is having a little joke when he suggests that the farmers supplying the companies who support the instructors are "under the instructors' observation/' There are, I understand, about three thousand suppliers to these companies scattered over thewhole of North Canterbury, and' as far south as Ashhurton. The instructors must be- Argue-eyed if they can keep fifteen, hundred suppliers apiece "under observation." What wilUhappen in actual practice is that when cream is bad, the instructors will bo informed, and will visit the offender. Now, Mr Heney admits that competition among the factories has prevented managers from "dealing faithfully" with suppliers of bad crtam. Will not the same cans© mike them hesitate to lay an information against a supplier whom they are not desirous of offending? The great difficulty in the way of producing a consistently high grjide^of'butter is not so much the occasional can of very bad cream, which is not allowed in any case to contaminate other good cream, but the large quantity of passable cream which is not quite as good as it might be. To improve this' cream involves more care and trouble on the part of the dairyman. Cream coolers! are advocated, and these cost money, and their installation means another utensil to wash twice a day. At present there is no inducement to a farmer to take this extra trouble: he will get just as good a. price for his creami if he takes no trouble at all, and will be in pocket to the extent of the cost of a cooler. As Mr Heney says: "Private companies cannot be wiped out with the 6troke of a pen." Quite so, but the cooperative companies can, if the suppliers determine to da so. ha vmda ta

co-operate, and the private companies can be dealt with later. The Farmers' Union and the North Canterbury D. iry Fanners' Association have among their members su pliers of all companies, smd if they will use the whole of their influence towards bringing about an amalgamation of the North Canterbury co-operative dairy factories I beliove it can be done. I quite agree with Mr Heney that the expense of the instructors is not a tremendous burden. It is, as a matter of fact, a. very small part- of the price wo pay for competition and "the right, to supply whatever company we choose," but m view of falling.prices, it is more nrcrsenrv than ever for all dairymen to pull together and cut out all wasto, inefficiency, and unnecessary expense in the production of butter.—Yours, etc., C. MORGAN WILLIAMS. Ohoka, April 21th.