DAIRYING IN HAWKE’S BAY

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXII, Issue 11453, 2 March 1931, Page 2

DAIRYING IN HAWKE’S BAY

NO ADDITIONAL SET-BACK

EA.CTOItIES ESCAPE: LIGHTLY

Apart from a heavy total, loss to tanners' as a result of the destruction of chimneys and damage * to homes,' the earthquake has had rio serious effect upon the dairying industry of Hawke’s Bay. There are few daily factories in the area which, has suffered most severely and. with the'.exception of a small, cheese factory at Taradale, . tjjp factories have' escaped pfacfically unscathed. Intensive dairying in' thfe . vicinity of Hastings and .Napier is a comparatively' now industry, hut with the subdivision of large areas tho growing of lueernq and the (making of ensilage, it has made marked progress in the past few years. The centre of the industry is at Hastings, and the Herotaunga Co-opera-tive Dairy Co.l* Ltdii at' Sfcortford Lodge is responsible for practically the whole output of the district. Last year the company completed the purchase of the factories, creameries, plant and goodwill of the Waipukurau Dairy Co., and its operations were thereby extended. In spite of tho fact; that, witli amalgamation, some of the Hastings factory supply vent to AVaipukurnu, the output of the former was just over 1400 tons of butter. The output of the facories in Hie whole urea was nearly 1700 tons. 'All this company’s factories escaped serious damage. At the Herotaunga factory, which was nearest to the centre of the disturbance, it is esimated that £2OO will easily cover the damage. The chief inconvenience was the loss of electric power, hut this was over•mmo bv recommissioning a gas engine, which had lain inactive for five vears, and setting up a tractor inside the factory to provide additional motive power for the churnß. Any cream that teould' not he. handled was sent to Waipukurau. Nearer Napier, at Clive, the Napier Dairy Company’s factory is intact and is operating as usual. The building is a light structure and escaped material damage. At Taradale the Waipiki factory collapsed and appears to be a total loss. Th e plant is a small one, however, the annual output being about 180 tons of • cheese. The suppliers are now separating at home, and Hie cream is being sent to tho Heretaunga. factory at Hastings for treatment.

“As disastrous as the earthquake lias been, the dry spell and jailing prices have dealt the dairy farmer a much, more serious blow,” said one dairy farmer. “We have had no adequate rain for nearly 12 months and the position is getting really desperate. Rut still, we have our land and our factories, and, compared with the tragic loss that has overtaken the towns, we should regard ourselves' as extremely fortunate. It is now up to us to give what help we can to our less fortunate brethren.”

As a- result of tho dry conditions which have prevailed, the Heretaunga- Dairy Company'estimates that its output this year will be at least 500 tons less than last year.