Butter-fat Returns

Manawatu Times, Volume 60, Issue 175, 27 July 1935, Page 4

Butter-fat Returns

The announcement that bonuses approximating some £460,000 will be paid to dairy-farmers in the districts served by Palmerston North is good news indeed. Butter suppliers in particular arc receiving excellent bonuses, averaging about 2 ; }d per pound of butter-fat and as a result their average receipts will be brought up to a shade over lOd per lb. for the whole of last season. This compares favourably with the average payment of Old received the previous season.

Owing, however, to the effect of the very dry summer experienced, the output was lower over all New Zealand and so the actual income of dairy-farmers is no greater than last year.

The high bonus being paid out is largely due to the remarkable rise in butter prices some two months ago. The average London market price for the twelve months ended June 30 last was only 78s per cwt., compared with 80s the previous year. Owing, however, to the high market value of the end of the season’s stocks, far larger bonuses were able to be paid out. To-day’s butter quotation on London is 93s per cwt., which is well above that of a year ago and equals a return of lid per lb. butter-fat at the farm gate.

Lest there be a tendency on the part of townspeople to imagine that the farmers’ troubles are over, it is as well that past retfirns should be reviewed.

For the years just prior to the Great War butter-fat returned 13d per lb. Eliminating the war years and the post-war boom entirely, we find that for the years 1922 to 1930, butterfat averaged about 18 Acl. That.price ruled for nine years prior to the depression. For the first two years of the depression the price averaged just under llld per lb. For the three past seasons the average has been but 9£d per lb. The past season’s pay-out is lower than that made in 1906.

There is this, to be said for the past season. The price was still low but it rose above that of the previous season by a full M per lb., and that previous season showed a rise of -}d per lb. over the one before. So the price has gradually improved for two seasons. We trust that further improvement may be siunyu twelve munLlis keiioiv