THE DAIRY YEAR

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LIII, Issue 129, 4 June 1919, Page 3

THE DAIRY YEAR

! BUTTER AND CHEESE TRADE. PROBLEM OE STORAGE. The annual report, of the National Dairy Association, will presently bo available, says the Post til tho review of the- year ended l oOth 1 April, the past season in described “a« 1 the most extruordinaiiy and erratic ex- ! perieuced throughout Che' Dominion : ! there could hardly be any two opinions on. this subject.” The vitality of the milking herds was lowered and’ mortality amongst dairy cow IS , readied an unusually high and the efiici,eney of those which weathered the first months of spring was seriousjy impaired. Sunshine was lacking though pasture,,* were fairly abundant. These remarks apply principally to dairy centres. | HOLDING CHEESE STOCKS. j Referring to the accumulations ol produce in store, the report states that from the beginning of 1919 there has been an improvement in the shipping position so far as dairy produce export is, concerned. In dealing with storage accommodation, the report emphasises the great need for its increase in capacity in view T of the experience of this season. “Without cool storage (the report states) the heavy stocks of cheese held throughout the Dominion consequent upon the limited transport available would have entailed -an enormous loss upon the cheese producers of the Dominion, for the cheese could not have been detained in store for from six to eight month s . without an appreciable reduction ;ln its value, which would have meant many thousands of pounds to the Dominion, and in some instances total loss. The report also refers to the dried milk and other milk products which lia-ve ma-teriiLlly enhanced the value <jt hutter tat, and 1 which I* being done to obtain myre ..light out the subject, through the Dairying Division of the Department of Agriculture, and by private enterprise, by sending missions of inquiry to America and elsewhere to obtain first-hand information about nulk-pi'oducts other than butter and THE IMPERIAL PURCHASE. Negaiations with the Imperial Government for the purchase of the .exportable surplus of butter and cheese of the Dominion are reviewed at length in the report. The report says that it was nut until 28th October, 1918, that a definite official offer was received from Hie Imperial Government of 102 d per p ured tor cheese and 181s per cwt. for butter. The manifest unfairness of the offer made for butter i K immediately apparent, when it is borne in mind that, at the meeting representing butter in '.crests it was decided that the bans of any sale was •the (jdajblhhineut of au /equalisation fund for the purpose of equalising local and export prices.” The Cheese Committee decided to sell —tho Pi' Her Domin''die refused'. Bnt it was made a. condition by the Imperial ‘Government that it would not purchase the cheese without the hutk'r, and further that, in view of the purchase of the Australian output a: 175s per cwt, 181s wn R the m ximum price which could ho paid to Now Zealand. Finally, the Butter Committee accepted 181?. certain: con cessions being made to them in respect to advances and storage, charges

THE YEAR’S EXPORTS. Exports of butter and cheese b»t year and for 1917-18 were as follow : f 1918-19. 1917-18. Butter, boxes ... 791,503 519,707S 1 9,707 Choe~e, orates ... 558,762 577.790 To Vancouver 27.765 boxes H butter and 2983 boxes were exported.