MILK SUPPLY

Dominion, Volume 18, Issue 54, 28 November 1923, Page 10

MILK SUPPLY

WELLINGTON’S DIFFICULTIES HOPE IN THE FUTURE “I had to marvel that it ever became established, so great were the initial difficulties,” said Mr. R. E. Herron, general manager of the City Milk Department, when addressing the Rotary Club yesterday on the city milk supply. Owing to the fact that Wellington, is almost entirely surrounded by sea, harbour, and high hills, it has to reach out a much greater distance for its milk supply than any of the remaining principal cities of the Dominion. During the summer season the outside of Wellington’s supply area is approximately three times, and during tho winter five times the distance the supply area is away from any cf the other cities. There are butter factories situated actually within the cities of Auckland, Christchurch, and Dunedin, whereas the nearest butter factory to Wellington is at Otaki, 47 miles distant.” These conditions naturally affected the selling price of the mini. “I am forced to admit that my department is working under a very great disadvantage to far as its premises are concerned,” said Mr. Herron. “This, disadvantage precludes the best possible results being achieved, and obviously, w'hen the time comes (as I hope it will before many years are passed), to obtain a new station, we shall be able to improve our methods so as to enable the department to distribute an even better quality article than can be made available to tlie public to-day. “To my mind there is no possible reason why the producers and the corporation should not work together with the utmost harmony, especially seeing that the corporation >s prepared to place in • the hands of a properly constituted impartial, tribunal the appraising of the va mo of the milk supplied, and all incidental matters in this connection. “I feel confident that complete success will eventually be obtained because there are so many sou no. reasons why a large city’s milk business should be handled by a centrol. control and'authority. . . . I am satisfied that there is no city milk supply systern existing in Australia and New Zealand that comes up to that operating in our own city. Mr. Herron also expressed l the opinion that an undoubted weakness. pertaining to the w’hole milk supply in the Dominion lay in the lack of a cp-oram-ated control of the farms and stock, the control in or adjacent to Wellington being dividled beiffyen the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Public Health, and the corporation. “This division of control.”, he said, “causes a multiplication of inspections by the Departments concerned, with consequent overlapping, and a lack ,ot cohesion and efficiencv which is inevitable under ®ny divided control.' It is my opinion that if the corporation were allowed to have the sole control over the premises and herds pertaining to the milk supply of the city, improved results would be obtained.”