New Price Equal To 1/7 Per Lb. Butterfat

Northern Advocate, 26 April 1944, Page 2

New Price Equal To 1/7 Per Lb. Butterfat

The effect the Government's recentlyannounced proposals in connection with the dairy industry will have upon tre total payments to dairy farmers for the next dairying season, was made clear when the chairman of the Dairy Board (Mr. W. E. Hale), addressed the Northland Ward Conference of the Dairy Board to-day. The total payments to be made for the 1944-45 season should, he said, increase the average butter factory supplier’s total payment to the equivalent of over 1/7 per lb. of butterfat. Dealing with the Government’s financial proposals in connection with the plan for greatly increasing dairy production. Mr. Hale said that, after the Prime Minister had called the representative conference of primary produers on March 7, he had asked the Dairy Industry Council to set up a special finance committee to discuss financial suggestions with the Economic Stabilisation Commission. After preliminary discussions with the Stabilisation Commission, this finance committee had tabled a report, and. in a subsequent interview, the Prime Minister indicated that, in view of the magnitude of the financiail proposals, they would have to be very carefully considered by the Government, because of their possible effect on stabilisation within New Zealand. From then until April 5. added Mr. Hale, that eommiittee was in almost continuous session with the Stabilisation Commission, and every possible alternative to the present proposals was examined without finding any reasonable solution of the problem The industry’s representatives, realising within stabilisation. Negotiations With Government

The industry’s representatives, realising that the dairy industry was already pieged to suoport the stabilisation policy, understood the difficulties that existed in relation to the wage levels of all other sections of the community. On Wednesday, April 5, the finance committee finally reported to the dairy industry council setting out its full opinion on tre advice it had given the Government, and that statement was unanimously approved by the council. The statement indicated that, if the Prime Minister would make a public announcement outlining the final decision of the Government on all financial adjustments under discussion, the Dairy Industry Council would then undertake to do everything possible to encourage and stimulate the maximum production of dairy produce. This course was adopted, and on April 7 the Prime Minister announced the Government’s proposals which had been very widely circulated over the air and in the press. No doubt most of them thought about these things in terms of butterfat, and he would summarise just what they meant. It was quite clear from some of the statements that had been made in the papers that there was a good deal of misunderstanding. To get the equivalent in terms of butterfat of the pay-out for butterfat for the 1944-45 season, one had to take the following factors into consideration : .

Final payout for butter for 1942-43, 1G.569d. per lb. butterfat, to which had to be added Id. farm and factory cost allowance. 1.21 d. present wage cost allowance. Government’s share of calf subsidy, approximately .lid. increased payment for pig meats, approximately ,27d. Thus the total equivalent payment to be made during the 1944-45 season should increase the average butter factory supplier’s total payment to the equivalent of 19.159 c!. iter lb. of butterfat.