Milk Board Dissatisfied With Minister’s Letter

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30588, 3 November 1964, Page 16

Milk Board Dissatisfied With Minister’s Letter

The Minister of Agriculture (Mr Taiboys) is not willin, to adopt a suggestion of the Christchurch Metropolitan Mil Board that town milk which failed to comply with the solids-nol fat standard should be paid for as second-grade milk, accordin to a letter received by the board yesterday.

A reply by the chairman (Mr W. P. Glue), was considered by Mr W. E. Olds as too belligerent. Mr Olds said the reply should be more reasonable. Mr H. E. Denton said he thoroughly disagreed with Mr Olds. “We have had the kid gloves on for a long time. We are now going into the arena with the gloves off,” he said. Mr Glue’s reply was then passed unanimously by the board.

Mr Taiboys said: “The feasability of introducing a quality payment scheme which would include solids-not-fat as one of the criteria is under consideration now by the New Zealand Milk Board. It is not a simple matter to establish a satisfactory and effective method of payment of this kind as overseas experience has shown. “When I addressed the annual conference of the Town Milk Producers’ Federation recently, I urged the federation to proceed with the development of a quality payment plan for solids-not-fat to ensure that high quality standards are maintained, and the industry and the New Zealand Milk Board are consulting on proposals that have been formulated.” He had been advised that the suggestion of the board would not necessarily attain the purpose the board wished to achieve and that it would raise other problems, said Mr Taiboys. “I look forward however to the introduction of a work-

able system for the payment for milk on compositional quality which will help to correct the tendency in some districts at certain seasons of the year for the non-fat-solids content of town milk to be lower than it should be,” said Mr Taiboys. Mr Glue said he had heard via the grapevine that Mr Talboys’ last sentence meant that the correction would be by the addition of a percentage of dried skim milk. In his reply, Mr Glue said he felt that the board should express its disappointment with the Minister’s reply, and state that it could have expected much greater co-opera-tion from the Minister and his department to remedy a longstanding failure on the part of a small section of the town milk producers to supply good quality milk. He said there should be little difficulty in applying a penal rate for low solids-not-fat supplies In the Christchurch area for a trial period and as an immediate spur to remedy the situation. “If the Department of Health’s annual reports mean

anything, then only the Chris church area generally is ser ously affected by the failur of town milk producers to su] ply milk of satisfactory solid not-fat level. Why should n< the Ministers of Health an Agriculture together tak early action to remedy whi is purely a localised problem If the remainder of the coin try can, in general, compl with legal standards, why n< Christchurch?” said Mr Glu “This board—l would su; gest—cannot accept the pn sent lack of effective actio by the responsible authoritit and organisations. if th Ministers concerned will n< ensure that their departmem carry out their statutory n sponsibilities, this board mui then decide what constiti tional action is open to it t obtain redress for the publi it is here to represent,” M Glue sad. The secretary of the Coi sinners’ Institute wrote to th board saying his committe had instructed him to expref its concern at the low lev< of solids-not-fat in the tow milk supply and commendin the board for the stand it ha taken in the matter. Th commitee asked for the effei on the consumer and for su; gestions for overcoming th problem.

The Christchurch Commi tee of Supply advised th board that it wished to met the board to discuss the solid not-fat question. The boar agreed to meet the commi tee on November 23 or 30 suitable to the committee.