GREATER CO-OPERATION.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 3 July 1924, Page 4

GREATER CO-OPERATION.

DAIRY FACTORIES JOIN FORCES. FEDERATION DECIDED ON. A meeting of dairy company directors was held in the Oddfellows’ Hall at Hawera yesterday, when Mr J. R. Corrigan presided over a v gathering representative of 12 dairy companies. Mr G. H. Buekeridge, as convenor of the meeting, said that at the recent conference of the South Taranaki branches of the N.Z. Farmers’ Union, held in Patea on May 22, 1924, the following remits were discussed and unanimously passed: (1) That in view of the importance of the dairying industry to this Dominion, the time has arrived when dairy factory managers should be appointed to their positions on being _ the Holders of certificates of qualification for such important positions, and that as a means of providing these qualifications the Government be urged to re-establish the.. Dairy School, with a view to the carrying out of research work for this purpose. (2) That the time has arrived when the various dairy factories in this district should -confer with the idea of formulating some basis under which it will be possible to s 6 educate the dairy factory managers as to enable them to get the best results possible from the milk supplied to their factories, and that a conference be arranged by the Farmers’ Union, to be held during the Hawera "Winter Show week to discuss this and the advisability of the formation of a. federation of factories in South Taranaki. The chairman said he was sorry to see such a sparse attendance, but he pointed out that everything had to have a beginning. He considered that the federation of dairy factories was essential to the welfare of the dairying industry, in view of the many opposing factors which they were un against at the present time. If they did not watch out they would wake up one morning and find that the proprietary interests had absolutely carried the foundations of their co-operative movement away. Then there were the questions of standardised articles of association and standardised balancesheets, which could- both be tackled if federation were brought about. Mr Corrigan suggested that the factories become federated and delegates from each factory attend monthly meetings. They had also been trying* to get a dairy school and laboratory for scientific research in connection with the dairying industry established, hut unless the factories took the matter up themselves and did a bit they were not likely to get very much from the Government. He thought that if a school, was to be of the educative value it should there should be one in each of the provinces. Mr J. Marx said his company had not had an opportunity of discussing the proposed federation since the notice calling the meeting had been sent out, hut he was-personally in favour of federation. _ There were many matters which required immediate attention. Ihere was the--matter of shipping contracts; he was sure that South'Taranaki farmers had lost easily 3d per lb. butter-fat during the past season as the result of the irregular arrival of vessels in England. Mr J. B. Murdoch said he had always been of the opinion that a federatioh of dairy companies would a wise step, and he therefore, moved that a federation of dairy factories be set up in South Taranaki for the purpose of watching the interests of the. dairying industry in this district. Mr T. Winks, in seconding, referred to the valuable work beino- done in the laboratory of the New Zealand Dairy Go: at Hamilton. He said that if as the result of a federation of the companies only a laboratory was set up in 1 aranaki the movement would have more than justified itself. Mr Brash, secretary of the Dairy Control Board, said he was satisfied that the move was one in the right direction, as local organisation was necessary It was possible they might see a landslide on the co-operative movement in this country. Even now they had the proposals to start proletary factories both in Hawera and Eltham, and he feared the position greatly. Unless the co-operative factones got together they 'would he in danger.

vr Al £ th^ r su PP° rt «i‘ to the motion was iky, D- D. Forsyth, chairman of the I'Jtham Dairy Company, who .said that the proposal had been in his mind for some considerable time. He also stressed the importance of scientific research, and pointed out what was being done in this connection by American companies, such as the Blue Valley Dairy Company, Chicago, a company about the size of the Hawera Dairy Company He was satisfied that an industry the size of the dairying industry iu New Zealand could do a lot for m the way of scientific research. iwr Lr. H. Buckeridge remembered the time when the dairying industry of tnis province was wholly in the hands of-the proprietary companies. The cooperative companies had arisen and wiped them out, hut now they were entering upon another phase. The proprietary concerns were beating the cooperative concerns because they had discovered that hv . home separation they could afford to make a better payment per lb butter-fat tlian the cooperative concerns. The general supplier measured his receipts on what he got per lb butter-fat, but usually he looked through the wrong end of the telescope. He had known of a case where a factory paying 1 2-5 d more than another was actually paving Jess than the other on the supnlv of miik over the year. ' Last year the company he was connected with decided to skim pait of their milk for five weeks and send the cream to one of the proprietary concerns. The milk was skimmed and sent to the proprietary factory, with the understanding that they could pay for the cream on the higher of the two tests—the factory test or the test of the proprietary concern. During the five weeks 32651 b of butter-fat were supplied to the proprietary concern, hut the proprietary on a cream test of 47, 48, to 50 per cent, only paid out on 29971 b of butter-fat, about a 10 per cent loss to the supplier on what his factory was paying out on the test of the same milk. The difference came by the factories paying out on the milk test and the proprietary concerns paying out on the cream test, ami the question was only one which could be tackled by co-operation amongst the co-operative factories. Mr Williams quoted an instance of where one of his herds which had the best of conditions and was supplying a proprietary concern was not bringing in the return that his other herds were that were supplying co-operative factories. Mr Gawith urged the necessity for better education on dairying matters, holding that this was a weapon to be used against the proprietary concerns. However, before they could have true co-operation they must have disintegration of the larger companies. In the small companies the suppliers could, be

got together and instructed on matters pertaining to co-operation. ■Mr Murdoch, replied, giving an. instance where a small branch of his company which was costing a<l per lb but-ter-fat more to rim than the other branches had been able to bear the loss easily with the assistance of the whole company. The motion was then put and carried and. it was further decided to circularise the dairy companies with a view to their appointing delegates to attend a further meeting. Messrs Winks, Murdoch, Corrigan, Buckeridge, Salmon, Lees and Duncan were appointed a committee to gather information to submit to the next meeting.

ihe meeting then closed with a vote of thanks to the chair.