FARMERS IN CONFERENCE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 232, 24 June 1908, Page 8

FARMERS IN CONFERENCE.

, NATIONAL" DAIRY ASSOCIATION. 'ANNUAL FLEETING. ' LIVE TOPICS DISCUSSED. . . (n:oM our ■ si'FciAr. reporters.) ■ Palsr.erston North, June 23. Tho annual conferenco of dairy farmers in connection with the Manawatu Winter Show opened this morning at ten o'clock with the fourteenth'annual "meeting of tho National Dairy Association of New Zealand, Ltd. About sixty farmers, dairy factory managers, employees, and others connected, with tho industry, were'present. Mr. J. W; Foreman JTikorangi), president of the Association, was in tho chair. • ■ . THE PRESIDENT'S SPEECH. ' The chairman, in moving tho adoption of ;he report and balance-sheet (as alreadj' published in Tiis Dominion), said that tho financial position of tho Association was moro satisfactory: that it had been before, there joing an amount of £140 standing to their credit in excess of that of twelve months ■ ago. (Hoar, hear.) This, ha_ said, was largely the result of the loyalty of the members in trading more directly with the Association than in the past. : He did not know that tho extension of the dairy industry had quite reached the expectations of a ago. . Somo causes had tended to retard progress, but he, was satisfied that in the near futuro it would ■ come about. ■: The present tendency was to subdivide land, and one. of the mainstays of people: on small holdings would bo dairying. Tho, land thus divided ■would provide a very profitable) living for this class of settlers.' Somo parts of, the South Island had 'suffered from drought for two years past, and this year it seemed to have ".reached the North Island. It would bo difficult to..say to what extent.

: Last Year's Exports, v ■ During tho past season they had exported something like 48,0D0cwt. of butter less than tho previous • season, but against that the exnort. of chcese had increased by upwards : of' IOS.OCOcwt.' This was largely the result of several butter, 'men. transferring their at- ' tention to . chceso. London was still the main port of 1 shipment.■ The. export or dairv produce, to South Africa last season wo'ild show a considerable increase on pie--1 vious vears,-though-lie had no figures with him. The South African market was 'somewhat uncertain, and it wa§ rather, diincult for New Zealand dairymen to get their produce there, as they should, owing to difficulties of transhipment at Australia. Ahe cost of handling was largely increased thereby, and tho New Zealander was placed at 7 -n . disadvantage compared with the .Austra- . lian shipper. West of England Shipments. : The amount. of ■' dairy,produce—notably butter—taken by V.'csfc of England ships had very materially during r tho • past season. Something like so,ooocwt.' less was shipped, and this'was duo to tho irregularity of the service, and because it .was run-in a manner not suitable fer a perishable article : like.butter. Tho amount of cheese shipped by this line was about the same, as that of tho preceding year. . : v . ''; Quality of ■It was .very satisfactory' that during the , season there had been very few complaints - regarding the quality of "their produce. It hacl been noticeable that when. butter was low .in 'price :at Home complaints came to hand regarding its quality. Twelve months ago this matter had been discussed by the Association ; it was said then, that the butter was not being opened up in as good condition as'it should be—or. at least, a con-siderable'-'p'ortion of it._ This season, however, there were practically no complaints, and he'thought this was largely due to tho scarcity of the material on XJio service of'tho. contract, steamers had been very satisfactory;. t and > the arrivals at tho English end had been; quite "as good as could be expected.

• Market investigation. 'At tW last, meeting they had urged; upon tho Government the necessity for sending an expert to London to'investigate and report upon matters pertaining to . the market. This suggestion, lie was. very pleased lo say, had been given elfect to, Mr. D. Cuddle, Dairy Commissioner,. probably ; the best man tboy could havo selected, having been sent. Mr. ,Cuddie; was due .to arrive in tho Do.minion in a day. or two, and it Teas to bo regretted lie could not have, reached them a little earlier' to have submitted/' what' would have been a most valuable and interesting report.; (Hear,. hear.V Ho".understood the Department intended continuing .sending Home an »officer of the Department each rear. He was exceedingly glad to bear this. "(Hear, hear.). ! ' Exporimontal Stations. _

Referring to the establishment of the experimental station on • thePalmerston Show Grounds, ho said it was the intention of the Government to erect, the building right away. i It was a matter for congratulation that dairy- ■ >> men were going tohavo this .valuable station, and that tho present site had been '. selected. They no doubt all had local ambitions, but this was'a matter at'which they had to look broadly, and Palmerston North, for its central position, and' other reasons, was ono of tho most suitable sites thatcculd have been selected: (Applause.) Inspection. ... . , Coming to dairy and stockyard inspection, ho said that this had been a matter for dis- ■ cussion for .many years, and last year ;thoAssociation had passed an almost unanimous '-■ vote in favour of tho Government doing the ■ • -work. Since then men had been appointed . \y-ho had 'undergone. training,' and • wore now taking up their duties in various parts of the Dominion. "You will see it stated in tho Press," said tho Chairman, "that in some; '. parts of the Dominion- tho inspectors are taking arbitrary . action, and insisting on concrete yards, .Taces, and so forth,,' with, which many dairymen find it difficult to ' comply. Whether this is truo or untruo, I am uiiablo to say, but we have tho assurance of tha Hon. R. M'Nab, Minister for 'Agriculture, and also of Mr. Clifton, Chief Stock Inspector, that theso men will not take arbitrary action unless . circumstances compel thorn to. They aro going into the districts more as advisors to the dairymen " than as officers, of coercion." Thero might fro isolated-cases, ho said, where coercion. \wduid bo necessary. He hoped that tho Association,. and dairymen generally, before j . they cried out too much, would give tho system a fair trial. (Hear, hear.) He was rot one to say that all the fault lay with ' tho milkmen, but some of it did, and this latest move was going to proy/a of 'benefit to the industry. • • , "roubla with Employess. Ho would not .dwell upon the action of tho dairy employees during the past year, ' hut it was a matter • for rogrot that men who wero engineers of trades unions in the cities could.not have loft tho men in tho country alone. (Applause.), It seemeu to him that their action had been unwarranted. (Hear, hear.) Ho believed that in every singlo' instance tho. dissatisfaction in the country had been fostered -by people from ; the towns. (Hear, hear.) "I won't mention namc3," sa.id the chairman. Perhaps this matter would have to be dealt with by tho . law of the 1 Dominion, and wo can only do our best in tho matter." ■ Progress Slow but Sure; Replying to possible criticisms of tho Association's policy, tho chairman said they wero wise in proceeding surely it slowly. They were making good progress; _ year byyear their membership was increasing; and they wero gradually and surely gaining tho -"confidencc of tho morabors. Loyalty was tho life-blood of an association such as theirs. '. (Applause.) He referred to Mr. C. Mackie's dispatch on behalf of the_ Association to Xondon, and ho was sanguine as to his work there apd its results in the future. (Hoar, hear.)* In the matter ,of the distribution .of dairy produce, at Home, ho thought wo were behind othor countries.. Two districts in Australia, he said, had combined in sending a - representative Homo, and they were very satisfied'with the results. At the present conference they had among them two gentlemen from Australia connected with • tho A industry there in, a representative capacity, N arid lie expected' some useful information iw ti'em at tho .Conference later, on..

Sympathetic Referenco. The chairman then briefly referred to the death of Mr. T. L. Joll, of Taranaki, but said that as a resolution of /sympathy would bo moved later ho would say no more at present. He moved the adoption of tho report and balanco-shect. Mr, J. Burgess (Warea) seconded the motion. DISCUSSION. Mr.. F; G. Gane, Normanby! referring to the appointment of dairy inspectors, submitted instances where "an improvement had been noticeable in tho quality of tho milk, and ho attributed it to tho now system of inspection. Ho was pleased that tiro Government proposed to legislate to make landlords contribute to the cost of improvements to dairy yards and byres as well as tho lessees. ■

"Is tlioro to be any finality to this question of inspection!"' asked a dairyman. He had had pavement in his cow yard and had been told to tear that up and put down concrete. Hq supposed he would bo told to tear up the concrete soon and put down bricks 1 t Mr. Gibb (Hawke's Bay) said that in their district they were told that if they had good clean flooring to their sheds and plenty of white-washing, thero would not bo any necessity to put down concrete. If all tho exports wero as capablo and tactful as Mr. Cook, of Ilawke's Bay, thero would not bo cause for complaint.' , Another dairyman said that tact was tho desirable quality in a dairy inspector. Mr. It. Dingle, Stratford, referred to the Co-operative Dairying Companies Act of last session, and said it did, not contain all that was desirable and necessary. For instance, it did not. includo in its provisions freezing works, box companies, and like concerns. Tho chairman said that' although the Executive had not discussed this matter yet, they probably would before they left Palmerston. Tho Act had'not given them all they had asked for or all that they needed. (Hear, hoar.) But it had given,companies power to liurchase the shares of contain of their shareholders, who were leaving tho district. He referred to the haste' a't the end of last session, and said that 'tho.. Minister, not looking at tho question from the; same standpoint of importance as themselves, had not been able to give Mr.-Harkhess (secretary of the- Association) suffipient. time ; to submit particulars to him, and thus enable a moro complete Act to. be passed.-

Mr. J. Marx (Mangatoki) asked for some, particulars as t.o the way tho shipping com-' panics were fulfilling their contracts. Mr. J. G. Harkness '(secretary), replying, said that in the past "year space for butter had been satisfactory. None had been shut out, and, as far as ho knew, personally, the butter had been very_ well handled. The export of cheese had increased 100 per cent, during the season, and "in one or two instances it had been sut out, mainly because more had com o forward than was booked threo weeks ahead. This was duo to tho fact that special accommodation was required for dealing .with cheese, and in this connection ho urged the necessity for sending in correct statements of forthcoming consignments.' Ho also urged the necessity for greater precautions on tho part of shipping authorities to prevent fire among tow and flax in ships' holds. Though - the Association might not suffer, greatly financially; yet the quantity of produce delayed by destruction or partial destruction meant the deterioration of their market at Home. -

. Mr. J. Brown (Inglewood) said that it was difficult to foretell a factory's probable shipment owing to'vagaries of the season.

' Mr. Harkness replied that tho main argu-ment-was that factories should keep in touch with him, for his position in Wellington as the Association's secretary enabled'him to havo tho best knowledge as •to shipping. (Hear, hear.) Shippers must know three or fofir weeks ahead what dairy produce was corning to enable them to gauge their cargoes of meat, e ( tc. .Mr. G. Collis (Kairanga) wanted to know if the conference would further discuss the matter of dairy inspection, say at a later stage. (Hear, hear.) The Chairman replied in the affirmative. The report and balance-sheet were then adopted. MOTION OF SYMPATHY. Mr. A. Morton (Taranaki) mafle. sympathetic reference to the death of Mr. T. L. Joll,\ and moved that thfc meeting express its sincere regret at the untimely death of Mr. Joll, and its great appreciation of tho services he had given to the industry,, and that a copy of the resolution be for- . warded to Mrs. Joll, assuring her of " their sympathy in her bereavement. —Seconded by Mr. A. M'Farlano (Pahiatua).

The motion was carried in silence, tho gathering unanimously standing. VOTE OF THANKS. ■ Mr. Marx moved a hearty voto of thanks to tho chairman and members of the directorate for tho manner in which they had carried out their duties;.and that £20 bo voted to tho chairman and £10 to each of tho directorate.; Seconded by Mr. O'Hara and' carried. • ■ The chairman oxpressed appreciation. ELECTION OF OFFICERS. ■ Messrs. A. MTarlatio (Pabiatua) and W. Fisher (Carterton), retiring directors; wero re-blected. Mr. W. Barrio (Kopokunui) was elected, after a ballot, to fill the vacancy on the directorate caused by. tho death of Mr. T. L. Joll. Mr. C. D. Morpeth was reelected auditor. ' EXEMPTION FROM INCOME TAX. Mr. Gano; on behalf of the Normanby Dairy Company,-, moved: "That this meeting urgo.the Government to exempt co-operativo dairy companies from payment of tho incomo tax for the following reasons': —That although interest oil share capital is paid by the company it is paid principally to shareholders, who are suppliers of milk, and liable to pay land tax; that there aro no capitalist shareholders in the company, thoso who at any time may not be supplying and are still'holding .their shares may_ become suppliers again at any time, and have done so in many cases; that the suppliers consider the call on-them to pay this'tax an injustice, regarding it as a tax on their industry, their money being hardly,'earned in all weathers, Sundays arid holidays included, together with long hours, frequently from early morning to late, at night." After a statement by Mr. Harkness, who oxpressed the belief that the grounds for which tho motion was lodged represented the case and wero the result of an error which he 'could doubtless get rectified, the motion was withdrawn.

STATE DAIRY HERDS. " A motion wa3 carried ■ that 'the Minister for Agriculture be asked to consider the advisability of 'establishing at tho Weraroa State farm, a'number of tho best breeds of dairy cattle, viz., Jersey, Guernsey, Holstein, shorthorn, and.Ayrshire breeds (1) for tho purpose of supplying the dairy farmer with any class of young cattle,hO f may fancy; and (2) for tho purpose of carrying out experiments! Avith the different breeds for tho benefit of the whole Dominion. DAIRY INSPECTION AGAIN. On the matter of dairy inspection again cropping up, the Chairman pointed out that it was too .early yet to:oppose tho new regulations. Tho Minister had already pro.misod that ho" 1 harshness would be allowed. Mr. Vile said tho trouble was that, tho Dairy Regulations were not yet issued, and the farmers should have something to guirlo them as to what was required of them. He moved that th 6 Minister be asked to havo the regulations issued without delay. After further discussion, however, and after hearing some remarks by Mr. ; Meed, stock inspector,' the motion was withdrawn. This concluded tho business of tho annual meeting of the Association; THE DELECATES. Delegates to the meeting were present from tho following companios: — Awatuna, Ballanco, Belvedere, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Dalefiold, Eltham, Featherston, Glen Oroua, Grcytown, Golden, Bay, Hawera, Kakaramea, Kaponga, Kaupokonui, Kia Ora, Kaikoura, Kairanga, Logarth, • Lepperton, , MaiiEatoki, Mangorei;" Mere Mere, Midhirst, Moa Farmers, Maketawa, Makahu, Ngaire, Normanby, Norsowood, Northern Wairoa; Nireaha, Ofcaki Oakura; Okato, J'uniho, Parkvalo, Pihama, Rowa, Itiverdaio, Ilongotea, Roiigokoknko, Stratfojd Farmers, Taratahi, Tikorangi, Tararua, Tnriki, Wa'verley,/ Warea, Wheminkura,' Waitui, Waiotahi. Proprietary Factories: Alpha, Defiance, Exporters, Beiyley and Griditlis, New Plymouth, Bray Bros, J. B. M'Ewan and Co., J. It. Scott, Pearson, and Rutter, Ltd., Dalgoty and Co., Oetzcs and Geritsen, Wright, Stephenson, and Co.;' and ..Wilier . and.Rilojr. - '. v