DAIRY FARMERS’ COSTS

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27690, 21 June 1955, Page 7

DAIRY FARMERS’ COSTS

CARRYING OF SURPLUS STOCK INCREASE IN PRICE OF MILK TO BE SOUGHT (New Zealand Press Association) INVERCARGILL, June 20. • The Southland Milk Producers’ Association would soon seek an increase of 4d a gallon in the price Of milk, said the chairman (Mr W. H. King> at a meeting of Southland Federated Farmers and a committee of the New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board in Invercargill today. Mr King said that the Southland milk industry had reached a crisis in that 3600 gallons was required daily by Invercargill, but production was 500 a day less. Supplies were being brought from Dunedin, but if the present shortage continued rationing would be inevitable. • ( The industry did not want to ask for an increased price, said Mr King, but it was being forced to because of rising production costs. Southland producers were having to carry surplus stock on their farms because their cattle could not be killed. “If we have a repetition of what is happening this year it will be a calamity to us and the Invercargill community,” added Mr King. He asked Meat Board members to make an immediate request for killing' facilities for cattle. This had been left to freezing companies in the past, and any concessions had been made grudgingly. Mr D. W. R. Blackler said that the

dairy farmers of Southland had been badly treated this year. Cull cows and bulls in many parts of the province had been ready for killing for months, but had not yet been touched. The deputy-chairman of the N"w Zealand Meat Producers’ Board <Mr F. C. Johnstone) said that if freer-n; works were full to the doors they could not kill. Port facilities were the trouble. The inability of ships to load during bad weather was causing much delay. The board would take up the question to see whether the position could be relieved.