A DECREASE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20137, 5 January 1940, Page 10

A DECREASE

DAIRY FACTORY OUTPUT FIGURES FOR WAIROA EFFECT OF-' HARD WINTER (Special In the lieraM.) WAIROA, this day. For the first live months of its present year the output of the Wairoa Co-Operative Dairy Company, Limited is below that for the same period m the year ended June, 1939, and very considerably smaller than for the first five months of the 1937-38 season. There are several factors contributing to this. Last year the output was seriously affected by the very dry summer and autumn, while this season the decrease is due in some respects to the hard winter and late spring which resulted in a large number of cows being lost. Another factor has been the difficulty experienced by many dairy farmers in connection with labour. In many cases a farmer previously milking 50 cows with the help of one hand is now milking only 25 or 30 cows and endeavouring to manage with the assistance of the members of his family. There are also a number of cases of farmers giving up cows altogether, which, ol' course, has seriously affected the position. The figures for the first five montiis of the present season give the output of the factory at 222 tons of butter, as against 231 tons,for the corresponding period last season. The output for the first five months of the 193738 season was 285 tons.

The pay-out for November butterfat was £9279 on the basis of Is lid. per lb. finest, as against £9374 on the same basis for November, 1938.