SOUTH ISLAND NATIONAL DAIRY ASSOCIATION.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 515, 24 May 1909, Page 8

SOUTH ISLAND NATIONAL DAIRY ASSOCIATION.

;. : -;:/;.,';: : ; : annual' REPORT., ■::'^:',)■'''. -..- The annual report of the' National Dairy Association...of ) the' South .Island fbr.'-.the ■year ending-May 31 states 'that tho quality of-the cheese shipped at Lyttelton, Bluff, dono good,, for ~ycry considerable -improvement, arid ■: the quantity, of / second grado, although small last year, !was: still; smaller' this season; and the cheese was, becoming more uniform in character and quality. Tho agitation against the 1 dairy, regulations had done good; for very considerable' improver: ment had been made in them. Probably,Bo; per .cent. 6f_ the. dairyriieh of New.Zealand "were very much alive to the'need for clean ■milklbeing supplied to factories, and have , done their best. to meet it; -; The' other. 20 iper cent, wanted'educating and'waking up.. .After,the .first two shipments of cheese the temperatures of the 'cheese', chambers; in steamers'was raised for a time, at first with, excellent.results,' tho cheese landing in London in better. condition than ever before—; so.it was said by several London consignees.The Kaikoura and'Papanui did not land tho : cheese in^good,order, and it is said that the cheesb:on".theso; vessels.was ;.carried at too. high a .temperature,. ' '-■■' "■'...".- / , ' 'Tho Government statistics showed' that;the export .of .dairy produce compared; favour-,, abiy with that;,of "last year: The returns, to end of May would show a much greater inorease. on those of'.the. previous year, when, from February onward, the , ' summer 'was very dryand feed burnt i.np:. This season had been' a. good: productive one all through, and all, over .the .Dominion it had. been one of the best dairying -season's.; known. Tho' Canterbury butter factories atop'ped shipping early, and stored for the winter trade.) They, like .the Taieri andl.Peninsula Company, had a good local trade, which absorbed the great bulk; of their make'-of butter..-.,;- '■ '; - ■ The total shipments from New Zealand to London this season" showed an increase over last season of 118,618 boxes butter (2965 tons) and 65,310 cases cheese .(3842 .tons). To West of England porta there was a decrease of 6252 boxee butter (158, tons) and 11,670 cases' cheese (686 tons)... Tho cheeso shipments' showed'an increase from the Bluff of 14,090' cases (829 tons);iDunedin, 1847 cases (109 tons); Lyttclton,■■3oß9 cases (182 tons), T-ror a total increase from these three ports, of 1120 (ions,' from November to May' (in-, elusive), as compared with the same period last season. - The imports bfchcese into theiUriited .Kingdom 'for the 'year ending Juno 30, 1908,; were; 118,595 tons, , .or somo 7000tons T less than 'in -thp. previous year. Out of this 118,595 tons,' Canada contributed 81,428atons and New Zealand 13,592 Holland,- with 13,397 tons, being the only other large contributing country. Belgium, France, and the United States together bon? , tributed about.lo,ooo tons. For the eight months from June 30, 1908, to March 31; 1909, the imports we're'less by 3744 tons than in the corresponding eight months of tho previous.year. ' ' .. .■■ . ; ; .. ; ;■ The ■ markets in London this season Improved a great disappointment to both buyers and; consignors. . Butter had proved very disappointing,.and cheese also, but as the cheese market was now improving, and many' shipments woro yet unsold; it was possible that cheeso buyers may yet come out without mtich loss, and. consignors fare bettor than looked possible a short time ago. '.-' Tho value of dairy produce exported from New Zealand for the year ending March 31, 1909, was Bet down in -the Government statistics at £2,287,759.''. This was nearly doublo what it .was'in 1901. Dairy produce is: .third on the'list'pf exports now. Tho prospects for the dairy industry in New Zealand woro encouraging, and , tho main thing was to improvo the quality/as they had all along done in cheese, and, until this season, in butter. ; In the improvement of their .dairy, herds generally farmers had still a big' 'undeveloped asset, probably worth some hundreds of thousands sterling per annum, and testing aFsociations for dairy- cattle should ha organised as in Denmark and other countries.