PIO PIO DAIRY FACTORY

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVI, Issue 3439, 5 March 1932, Page 5

PIO PIO DAIRY FACTORY

A PROGRESSIVE COMPANY.

EARLY DIFFICULTIES OF DAIRYING. WELL JUSTIFIED OPTIMISM. (Article I.) Through all the trials and tribulations which the Northern King Country has had to contend with, the Pio Pio Co-operative Dairy Factory Company is one concern that has never looked back since it was established. The pioneer settlers who took up land in £his district were not speculators. They went there with the one purpose of making a permanent home for themselves and families, and land in the Pio Pio district has not changed hands to the same extent as in other parts of the King Country.

In 1909 a number of these early pioneers realised that this district offered great possibilities for dairying, which about that time was beginning to figure largely in the exports of New Zealand. A dairy factory seemed an ambitious proposal for a district which was only in the process of development. The district was badly roaded, and there was only a comparatively small area under cultivation. The idea of a factory, howevex*, became more popular as the settlers realised the possibilities of the land, and a canvass of the district was made to discover what measure of support was forthcoming. This proved £0 satisfactory that a meeting was called, and a provisional Board set up and plans made for the purchase of a site, the erection of the buildings and the of the plant. The first directors ""of the Company were Messrs. P. O'Dwyer (chairman), G. J. Bevege, H. J. Andrews, Jas. Gleadow, T. J. Dunne, C. F. Johnstone, P. Tarrant, Mr. Dunne acting as secretary. No time was lost in making the factory operative. On 14th May, 1910, a general meeting was called to place before shareholders the final arrangements that had been made, and on the 25th of the same month the foundation stone of the building was laid by Mr. W. Jennings, member for the district.

The First Year.

The first supplies of cream were received in September of the same year. There were only 25 suppliers for the first twelve months, during which period the directors had an anxious time owing to a severe drought which overtook the district during the months of January, February and March. This did not bring supplies up to expectations and the output was only ISh tons with 25 suppliers. This resulted in a loss of £IOO on the year's working after paying out Bd. a lb. for butter-fat.

The Second Year.

Neither the directors nor suppliers were pessimistic, however, and their optimism was well justified, for the balance sheet for the year ending 1912 showed a profit of £ll6 7s. 3d. after paying out 9d. during October and November and lOd. for the rest of the season. This pay-out would have been 101 d. had it not been for the loss of the previous year.

Since then the affairs of the Company have never looked back. The supplies have steadily increased, and the quality of the output is now equal to anything produced in the Dominion. There have been times when the output fell away owing to climatic and other conditions inseparable from dairying, but it is a creditable performance that the factory has increased its output from 185 tons to nearly 500 tons, with so many difficulties to contend with.

Summary of Progress.

The following is a summary of the output and the average pay-outs made for the season ending July of each year:—

There is every indication that the output this season will again be substantially increased. From July Ist to 31st January last 370 tons of butter were manufactured, this being 56 1 tons more than for the corresponding period of last year.

Quality of Output,

It has always been the aim of the Pio Pio Factory to turn out a highquality article, and that these efforts have not been in vain is proved by the winning of the much-coveted Weddel Cup three times, while the Davidson Cup was won outright after a series of competitions. This cup was handed back to the donors for further competition, but a replica miniature of the trophy reposes in the office of the Company. The Company also won two first prizes in the Waikato Show in 1914;'first and second prizes at the British Dairy Farmers' Association's Show in London in 1915, and several prizes at the Waikato Show and the gold medal at the Palmerston North Show in 1918 for the best box* of export butter. The Company also gained second and third prizes in the Weddel Cup competition on several occasions, besides winning a number of minor prizes in other competitions at the Manawatu, Waikato and Auckland Shows. The record of the Pio Pio Factory would be hard to beat in this Dominion. This year the average grade should be particularly high, the average for January being 94.093. (Article 11. next issue.)

Year. Pay-out Output in ' d. Tons. Cwt. 1911 8 18 1 1912 9i 23 — 1913 101 41 8 1914 11.57 57 7 1915 13.6 78 6 1916 15.3 86 2 1917 17.22 105 6 1918 17.6 81 1 1919 17.125 93 12 1921 30.8 139 3 1922 16 1 222 6 1923 17.20 312 11 1924 18.116 300 9 1925 16.27 • 353 — 1926 17.03 306 12 1927 14.7 351 14 1928 17.558 396 10 1929 18.2 436 10 1930 16.727 450 9 1931 11.434 488 —