FUTURE OF DAIRYING.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20083, 12 November 1930, Page 17

FUTURE OF DAIRYING.

BRIGHT AND DARK SIDE. At a representative meeting of members of the New Zealand Friesian Association at Hastings, the president, Major It. A. Wilson, of Bulls, gave an interesting survey of the futuro of dairying. In his opening remarks he said tho position had both its bright and its dark side. The bright side might be said to be the undoubted fact that the dairymen of New Zealand generally were beginning to realise that one of the main causes of the poor quality of Dominion cheese was that they were trying to make it with unsuitable milk and that the Friesian breed offered a means of rapidly ipiproving the milk from a choesemaking standpoint, by crossing with the higher testing breeds. In his opinion, and in that of many good judges there was 110 policy which New Zealand dairymen could pursue, which would more rapidly increase our production of butter and cheese than the rapid extension of this practice. The gradual realisation of this fact was already causing a better demand for their bulls and they expected that it would lead to a much more sustained demand in the future. The present demand at good prices for Polled Angus cattle, recent sales for which had realised averages of over SO guineas for young bulls, which had been' in demand for crossing with beef cattle, showed what Friesian breeders might expect were the dairy industry as a whole to carry out the policy of crossing with Friesian bulls.

The dark side of the position was the heavy drop in values of all dairy products. This was not peculiar to the industry, but was shared with most other products. While there was some evidence for a belief that the fall was too sudden to be permanent and that they would see a rise from the present low figures yet, they could not expect more than a partial recovery in the near future, and must shape their course accordingly. They had therefore formulated a policy of economy "for the ensuing year. They were reducing the charges to membersj and while they could not get very far in that direction without losing efficiency, they hoped that members would appreciat-j what economies they could effect. When wages and costs generally had fallen to a point commensurate with the new level of prices, they would be able to conduct a prosperous trade again, but the process of readjustment would be a very difficult one. The only comfort that they could offer to members was that they were all in the same boat, and all must make sacrifices and economise as the only sound policy of the moment.