Milk increase poses problem

Press, 18 October 1980, Page 7

Milk increase poses problem

PA Kami It o n New Zealand’s biggest dairy company is preparing to cart milk out of Waikato if local factories cannot cope with an unprecedented supply. . New Zealand Co-oper-ative Dairy Company spokesmen confirmed that contingency plans are to put milk that its factories cannot process' into other companies’ supply. - If this proves necessary, Waikato milk may travel by tankers to the Bay of Plenty of. Northland. The. main problem will be that companies in those districts also are struggling to process unprecedented production. The Waikato company on Wednesday processed (including town milk) 10.3 million litres, compared with 9.T million litres on the corresponding day last year vvhen there was a record season.

The company’s maximum. throughput, using all available plant, is to process 10.6 million litres. This leaves a processing

capacity margin only about 312,000 litres above Wednesday’s intake. Company spokesmen said that other exceptional seasons had posed no particular problem because neighbouring companies had easily absorbed the extra. But this season would put most Waikato factories in a crisis if milk output continued to rise. '

Projecting present supply, into next week, and allowing for a steady iincrease from cows as they .near the flush, the company estimates it will have up to 300.000 litres more, by mid-week than its- factories can handle.

Wednesday’s supply was already 750,000 litres above last season’s' flush of 9.54 million litres of milk (including town milk) on November 5.

What transpires will depend largely on the weather and grass growth, but several company representatives are also worried about possible industrial action : upsetting factories’ ability to cope.