THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LV, Issue 258, 28 September 1935, Page 4

THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.

(To the Editor ) Sir,—For many years I have watched the development of the dairy industry in its methods adopted, setbacks suffered and mastered, and as a pawn in the financial and political game, until wo now move forward with unanimity in our local marketing scheme to the tune of 59 votes to one. We are to no longer buy a brand but a better butter, but at what price? “The board has no intention of endeavouring to fix the price at which retailers in New Zealand shall sell their butter.” Mr Dairy Farmer, have you no voice in the selling of your own butter? The board should, in justice to the producer, first fix a price covering the cost of production plus a margin of i profit. Until we farmers. are able to j monetise our produce along the lines j of Douglas Social Credit, these schemes, ] commendable as they are, will fall j lamentably short of giving that help the farmer needs. Will Mr Forbes and j , Mr Poison see that the labour of the farmer is paid for? The dairy farmer demands the difference in the value of goods received in payment from, Home for his butter (which is about ' !6d lb). This added would raise his j butter'fat payout to Is 3d or more. The j suggested disposal of second-grade butjter is a variation of last week’s butter slogan “that nothing but the best will do” for the Home market. Candidly, will it be sold through “special channels” or may it not be dumped into the channel? Is not the preponderance of second grade butter now one of the chief .obstacles against the price of the better ■ article ? (Soviet dumping, etc.) Will this second-grade butter be made from second-grade cream, or does this fault vanish from the cream in the pasteuriser? What quantity of second-grade butter is likely to be shipped, seeing the factories’ output of this grade is so small? Will this de-

velop into a method of restricting the volume of first-grade butter to the open market? Or is the reference primarily _to whey butter? Further amplification would be welcome on

this point. Will not many of the public be forced by lack of purchasing power to reluctantly buy whey butter, and so cause thousands of our chil-

dren to suffer by not obtaining certain growth vitamins contained only in full cream butter? Thi,s epoch conference will, be resultless unless the farmer receives more money for his butterfat. This can be done by Douflas Social Credit. The “just price 7 ’ payment will protect both producer and consumer.—l am, etc., „ . ERNEST PETTY. Feilding, Sept. 26, 1935.