CHEESE MAKING

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 47, Issue 2668, 10 September 1937, Page 7

CHEESE MAKING

FIRST TE AROHA FACTORY GLUT OF DAIRY PRODUCE. On Wednesday, December 11, 1912, the Norfolk cheese factory at Motumaoho was opened, the first directors being Messrs Manuel (chairman), JWilson, J. S. Wilson, R. J. McCausland, Mclntosh, Bluett and Captain Whyte. At this time Mr W. Goodfellow was managing director of the Waikato Dairy Association. In the report presented at the first annual meeting on August 11, 1913, it was stated that 280,412 pounds of milk had been received; 29,974 pounds of cheese had been made; the highest test was 5.4 with the average at 4.05; and the price paid to suppliers was l/o*d a pound of butterfat.

The Great War and Rapid Expansion The first cheese factory in the Te Aroha district was erected at Te Aroha West in 1914. Manufacturing was begun in December and, partly as a result of the Great War, operations in the first season were remarkably successful —so successful indeed that the 18 suppliers received the highest prices yet paid in the province.

Up to 1914 the only product of the district had really been butter. Two companies, the Thames Valley Cooperative Dairy Company and the Te Aroha District Co-operative Dairy Company, had creameries throughout the area, although the main factories were at Waitoa and Waihou respectively. Needless to state, the conservatism of the farming community did not originally favour the idea of making cheese when the manufacture of butter was being successfully carried out. All manner of objections were raised against the manufacture of cheese, despite the fact that many of the arguments were highly irrational. During 1912 the columns of the local Press were filled with suggestions and refutations, but the controversy died down in the next year only to be revived by the success of the bold Te Aroha West enterprise.

This district had been persuaded to take the plunge by the offer of an experienced cheese-maker. Mr JPedersen who, on behalf of his principals', suggested the erection of a factory to manufacture cheese at a stated price the pound. So the Waihou Valley Co-operative Dairy Company, Limited, was formed with its first directors as follows: —Messrs E. W. Wagstaff (chairman), A. H. Crombie, J. Hamlyn, J. Frear, G. J. Hancock, D. Stone and G. Wood. The manager was Mr B. Barnes and the secretary Mr J. R. Nicol. Messrs Joseph Nathan and Company, Limited, seeing the possibilities of the district, entered two seasons later into an arrangement with the company for the manufacture of “Glaxo,” which was carried on for many.years. But the company in 1921 amalgamated with the New Zealand Co-oper-ative Dairy Company, Limited, by whom the factory is now owned. We shall now take a look at certain details relative to the operations of the Te Aroha District and Thames Valley co-operative dairy companies.

As far as the Te Aroha company was concerned, the strike in the former year had resulted in a glut of dairy produce on the market and consequently a lower price than that for the past year was paid to suppliers. On the whole the results were encouraging for the coming year.

In 1915, when it was seen that, contrary to expectations, the war was not going to be finished in three months, the farming community began to feel anxious about the quantity of shipping they would be allowed. A deputation from the Thames Valley approached the war-time Shipping Committee which, though discussing matters at length and with considerable sympathy, was under a contract with the Imperial Government, so that no definite promise about shipping-space could be given. They could only trust that the same amount as usual would be allotted. However, the Auckland Freezing Company, in order to relieve the situation, decided to erect additional buildings to provide extra storage facilities for 250,000 boxes of butter and 1,300 tons of cheese. The capital for this undertaking was supplied by the dairy companies of the Auckland province—the Thames Valley Cooperative Dairy Company having to contribute £1,300 out of the total

£15,000 required for building and plant.

The Waihou Valley Co-operative Dairy Company at the end of their first season in 1915 had 19 suppliers, a number which was increased to 30 at the end of their second season in 1916. But', whereas they manufactured 91 tons of cheese in 1915, 250 tons were made in the following year, in which the price of butterfat was 1/7. Indeed, it might be said that the oustanding feature, in some respects at least, of the decade 1905-15 was the expansion of the Cheddar cheesemaking industry; and the movement was continuing to gain popularity.

The export of cheese in the year ended March 31, 1905 was 82,421 cwt., whilst that for the year ended March 31, 1915, was 794,775 cwt.—an increase of over 860 per cent in 10 years. The export value in 1915 was £2,730,211; that for 1925 was £5,800,808. The number of cheese factories in New Zealand rose to 327. Naturally many wondered how long the economic advantages to be derived from the sale of cheese could last; for there were many who feared that the industry would be overdone. Others thought that all would be well, provided that the quality of the cheese was maintained; for they fully realised the dangers of adulteration processes when demand was great and prices were high. The years of the Great War marked an era of great expansion in the dairying industry of the Thames Valley. In the middle of 1915 the Thames Valley Co-operative Dairy Company erected a cheese factory and cottage at Ngarua and a large cheese factory near the railway station at Waitoa. The Te Aroha Cooperative Dairy Company increased its capital by an extra £lO,OOO, being 5,000 shares at £2 each, and Us directorate to nine. On July 22, 1915, the first annual . meeting of the Waihou Valley Co-operative Dairy Company showed that the rising price-level was a direct result of«the war.

The question of cheese as against butter was exercising the minds of all farmers at this time. A large number of factories throughout the country had changed from butter to cheese, chiefly because of the higher prices being paid for the latter. On the whole, the Thames Valley suppliers were in favour of the cheese, as will readily be understood; but there was opposition to the change from some of the creamery suppliers. However, requisitions to set about cheese-mak-ing were presented from the suppliers of Ngarua, Waitoa and Lower Waitoa. During the 1914-15 season, the herd-testing movement was gaining ground. Some 18 herds, comprising 2,730 cows, were tested. Despite the dry season the average association cow produced 212.99 pounds of butterfat, 20 pounds more, than in the former year. The increase in the whole of the herds tested in 1914 and 1915 was 15.33 pounds, which was equivalent to 17/6 or £lO,500 from the cow population of 12,000. As a result of increased knowledge some members of the association cul-

led one-third and even one-half their herds. Tested cows consistently brought higher prices at sales. One herd of 77 tested cows brought an average price of £l3/8/- a head—a record for the district.

The Manawaru Co-operative Cheese and Butter Company, in its second season in 1916, had 23 suppliers, to whom l/7Sd had been paid for butterfat, a new record for the district. A total of 336,313 pounds of eheese were made during the 1916 season. The Te Aroha District Co-opera-tive Dairy Company now had 220 suppliers to whom the sum of over £85,000 was paid during the 1916 season. Their capital was £25,000 after their 13 years of operation; and their manufacturing figures for the season were 601 tons of butter and 130 tons of cheese. At the same time the shareholders of the Thames Valley Co-operative Dairy Company resolved to increase their capital to £60,000 by the issue of a further 15,000 £2 shares. On December 6, 1916, the new Glaxo factory at Te Aroha West was opened. The Waihou Valley Co-operative Dairy Company had begun this project in July, 1914, but it had been deferred owing to the outbreak of the Great War. It was the first driedmilk factory in the province and claimed to be the most up-to-date in the world. It is also noteworthy that the New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Company had at the same time risen to be the second largest milk-manu-facturing concern in the world—in less than 25 years. (To be Continued).