PIO PIO DAIRY FACTORY

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVI, Issue 3440, 8 March 1932, Page 5

PIO PIO DAIRY FACTORY

(Article II.) Ideal Dairying Country. The district from which the factory receives its supply is ideal dairying country and has well proved the optimism of those who realised its possibilities and pioneered the factory. There is an equable climate, and the soil is very much the same as that of the Taranaki district. While the number of suppliers to the factory have increased from year to year, the increase of output is largely due to systematic herd-test-ing, culling and top-dressing. Factory Up-to-Date. It has been the policy of the directors and management to keep the factory up-to-date, and making due provision for the scientific side of butter manufacture. The present plant and buildings are capable of handling twice the present output with very little addition to the plant, which is of the most modern kind. May Revolutionise Dairying in New Zealand. One of the most interesting additions to the factory plant is the installation of a deodoriser, a New Zealand patent and manufacture. For some time there have been complaints on the London markets of certain taints in New Zealand butter. Some consider that this taint is due to topdressing by artificial manures. Whether such is true or not, the factory manager, Mr. Walker, is of the opinion that this deodoriser has solved the problem of this taint. A box of butter treated by the deodoriser was placed in cold storage in Auckland for two months, and when opened up was found to be entirely free from this taint, and the condition of the butter as perfect as when it left the factory. Mr. Walker is of the opinion that this may revolutionise the dairying industry of New Zealand. A large number of these deodorisers are in use in Australia and about a dozen in New Zealand. If the taint can be eliminated by this means it will be the greatest advance made in the dairying industry of this Dominion for many years.

The Present and Future Seasons.

Apart from the depressed state of the butter market, the outlook for the Pio Pio Factory is more than satisfactory, and it might reasonably be expected that the turnover will increase at a more rapid rate than in the past. The use of sodium chlorate by the suppliers has largely lessened the menace of ragwort. The Pio Pio Company has sold 20 tons of sodium chlorate to its suppliers, in addition to which large quantities have been sold to suppliers by stock firms. The effects of this will be apparent next year by increased supplies to the factory. In addition, many settlers in the district are paying more attention to milking than sheep owing to the low prices for wool, and this again will mean more butterfat supplies next season. The supplies from Mahoenui are increasing every month and next season it is expected that the workers on the Maori Settlement scheme at Mahoenui will be sending in a substantial quantity of butterfat to the factory.

Handicaps To Be Overcome.

Within a radius of five miles of the Factory there is anything up to 5000 acres of idle land eminently suitable for dairying. Most of this land is owned by the Maoris, and is a menace to the adjoining settlers owing to them being breeding grounds for all sorts of noxious growths. It is nothing short of a calamity that a district well roaded and with hydro-electricity available should be allowed to be vacant and not bearing their full share of local rating. Flooding of River.

Another problem facing the Pio Pio district is the flooding of the Mokau River between the 8-mile peg and Wairere. The willows on this stretch are blocking the river, and have practicaly made 1000 acres of good land useless for dairying, while another 1000 acres are only fit for farming during part of the year. The land affected is ideal dafrying country, being covered with river silt, and would make spendid pasture country. At a time when work must be found for tens of thousands of unemployed, the time is opportune to have these willows cleared, and again make these lands productive.

A Sound Position.

The financial position of the Pio Pio Co-operative Dairy Factory is sound in every way, even though the industry is passing through the most serious crisis of its history in New Zealand. The accumulated profits from the Company's trading account amount to £2272. In view of the times this must be considered very satisfactory. Sound -business principles have been exercised in the administration of the Company's affairs, and this is mainly responsible for the position of the Company today. It was a bold undertaking when the promoters of the Company started the factory in 1910, and those promoters who are still alive must be proud in that the steady growth of the Company, the quality of the output, and its sound financial position has well justified their optimism I of twenty-two years ago.