DAIRY INDUSTRY

Press, Volume LXXVI, Issue 22908, 3 January 1940, Page 5

DAIRY INDUSTRY

DECLINE IN PRODUCTION

LATEST STATISTICS

The feature of the statistics of the operations of dairy factories during the year 1938-39 is the drop in the physical volume of production, the intake of butter-fat into factories having fallen by more, than 9 per cent., as compared with 1937-38. Factors contributing to this fall were the further decrease in the number of dairy cows, the unfavourable climatic conditions experienced, and the after-effects of the facial-eczema epidemic of the previous season. , The following statistics are taken from the December Abstract of Statistics; — The number of factories recorded as operating during the year shows a further drop of 18, the total reduction over/the last two years being 49. This reduction is due in part to the zoning policy, to which may also largely be attributed the substantial fall in milk and cream cartage costs apparent over the last two years. Though the number of persons engaged during 1938-39 fell by 184, the salaries and wages paid rose by £24,575, or by 2.4 per cent. The cost of materials other than milk and cream was lower by 7 per' cent., but other expenses of manufacture rose by 3 per cent. Both the cost of butterfat—i.e., payout—and the value of production fell by something under 2 per cent. '• As previously mentioned, the quantity of butter-fat received for manufacture was lower by 9 per cent, than in 1937-38. The reduction Was far more apparent in butter-making than in cheese-making, the actual percentage reductions in the quantities of butterfat received for butter-making, cheesemaking, and other purposes respec- ■ tively being 11, 4, and 8. Of the 347,309,8741b of butter-fat received by factories in 1938-39, 77 per cent, was utilised for butter-making, 22 per cent, for cheese-making, and 1 per cent, for the manufacture of condensed milk, dried milk, and so on. The quantities of butter, whey butter, and cheese made during 1938-39 declined by 11 per cent, 5 per cent, ' and 4 per cent respectively as compared with 1937-38. The value of butter' produced fell by 3 per cent, but the values of whey butter and cheese produced rose by 5 per cent, and 4 per cent, respectively. The table below shows the quantities of butter, cheese, and whey butter, and the values of these and other products, manufactured during 1936-37, 1937-38, and 1938-39.

- Quantities 1936-37. .1937-38. 1938-39. ■Cwt. Cwt. Cwt. Butter .. 3,507,206 3,258,215 2,910,646 Whey butter 45,901 49,183 46,576 Cheese ... 1,826,302 1,769,351 1,705,277 Value-, (at Factory) 1936-37. 1937-38. 1938-39. Butter ..20.213,406 20,448,260 19,874,387 Whey butter 243,710 282,820 297,916 Cheese .. 5,493,908 6.044.622 6,308,980 Other products 917,619 991,586 816,130 Totals .. 26,868.643 27.767,288 27,297,413 The following table shows the number of male wage-earning employees engaged,-in dairy factories on the fifteenth or nearest representative day of each month of the calendar years 1936, 1937, and' 1938, and of the first three months of 1939: —

During the Vear 1938-39, 84,650 hours of overtime were.worked, as compared with 122,808 in 1937-38. Short time recorded was 311 hours, as compared with 79 hours in the previous year.

January 1936 3310 1937 3488 1938 3490 1939 3249 February 3137 3355 3309 3041 March * 2958 3144 3146 2780 April May # # 2592 2959 2676 — 2284 2358 2101 — June 1744 1700 1653 July 1628 ' 1584 ' 1565 — August # , 2036 2024 1988 September 2801 2769 2617 — October 3447 3320 3059 — November , 3717 3594 3328 — December 3780 3603 3355 —