PROPOSED CHEESE FACTORY

Northland Age, Volume 14, Issue 33, 26 April 1917, Page 9

PROPOSED CHEESE FACTORY

IN view of the proposals to re-organise the < Dairy Companies, the following proposals by Colonel Allen Bell which we reprint • from our files of two years ago, will no doubt prove of interest. It must be remembered that all estimates were based on pre-war prices. “I feel that the time is at hand when, if the Kaitaia Co-operative Dairy Company is to maintain its hold on the Dairy Industry in this district, that a bold and progressive policy must be pursued, and a Cheese Factory established in a suitable position to deal with a portion of the present milk produced and also for that large

quantity which will in a few short years be produced from the Kaitaia Swamp. If r this step be not taken I fear that a split will occur in our district, disastrous to the present Co-operative concern and its suppliers. Already enquiries arc being made from at least two sources re the establishment of a proprictry Factory, and if we as Directors, do not take the preliminary steps at once to combat this movement we will deservedly earn the censure of the Dairying community. It is in my opinion hopeless to expect . ' that the Dairy farmers of this district will continue to supply butterfat at lid or a r shilling per pound, when by the manufacture of cheese they can get in normal seasons 1/5 per pound. With this wide difference the spirit of loyalty to the Co-opera-tive concern could not be expected to con-» tinuc, and it behoves us as Directors to take such steps as will prevent this spirit from reaching the breaking point. Some eight years ago, whilst engaged in the work of re-organising the Dairy Industry in the Waikato, I stated my belief that within a few years the Dairy Industry would resolve itself into Home Separation and Cheese. This has come true to-day the Home Separation movement has ad-

vanced by leaps and bounds throughout the Waikato, until now the Waikato Home Separation Company has an output of over 1200 tons per annum, and Cheese Factories arc springing up in all parts of the district, and at the present time four more arc contemplated. Again in Taranaki the farmers have for a considerable i number of years found cheese so profitable that cheese plants have been installed throughout the province, and I feel sure that here, once we haVc an influx of dairy farmers from other parts in this district, i that there will be a demand for a Cheese plant that cannot be ignored. I will now analyse the position with re-

gard to butter and cheese, and 1 may say >in passing that the high prices obtaining ‘ for cheese at present cannot be taken into ■ consideration as they are almost wholly due to the unfortunate war. Why has cheese during the past io years been a better proposition than butter? The ansk wer is that it is without a substitute, whereas butter has a substitute in margarine, a wholesome and nutritious product which is increasing in popularity year by year and for which in the future jAthcrc will be a greater demand owing to advertisement which it has received during the war. In Great Britain at the present time the consumption of margarine annually is four times that of the total amount of butter exported from Australia and New Zealand annually or about eight pounds weight per man, woman and child of the total population. The position is even more acute on the continent ■* where the people arc exporting their but- • tcr to Great Britain and eating margarine themselves, and the annual consumption is between 33 and 30lbs per head in these particular countries. These figures are _ startling but they are not to be wondered at, when margarine probably nearly equal to first class butter is selling at 6d per lb and butter at from 1/6 to 2/-, neither is it to be wondered at that margarine which * a few years ago was used only by the poorer classes, is now used in the middle • class household, and I have no hesitation in predicting that after things have again reached their normal that we cannot hope " to get the same prices for butter as we have done during the past few years, (except perhaps that portion which is of the highest possible quality). The fat years of butter industry in my opinion have gone, and if dairy farmers of New Zealand are to maintain their position they will have in districts where there is a fairly riajge concentrated supply and the roads suitable, to scrap the butter factories out of existence, and go in for more profitable cheese. , I have said that the past ten years have « been extremely profitable for cheese. The future is even more hopeful as there are , (jnly three countries in the world export- *■ ing it, namely Canada, New Zealand, and Holland, whilst butter is exported from eight countries, namely, Denmark, Russia, Sweden, France, Holland, Argentine, Australia and New Zealand. Hitherto Canada has been the greatest cheese exporter, but the export quantity is falling year by year owing to the enormous increase in the internal consumption. This fact alone will v. enable New Zealand to increase her output without the least possible chance of over production. In a previous paragraph I have stated that cheese is without a sub-

stilute and in looking into the future and estimating the possibilities we have to give this factor serious consideration. The past shortage of meat throughput the world will Ire intensified after the war is over, and cheese which has no substitute is in itself a substitute for meat. This will be one of the great determining factors in the demand for cheese in the future. Taking the foregoing facts into consideration, there is absolutely no room for doubt as to the advisability of embarking in cheese production in this district.

I will now analyse the local conditions and see if we have, or will have in the near future the essentials for a successful cheese factory. They arc two only, first, the supply must not be less than 600 to 700 cows, and these within a radius of three miles if milk is carted by road. Secondly, the milk must be delivered in first class condition and more up to date methods of cooling on the farm must be adopted during the hot weather to bring it up to the required standard. Contrary to the general opinion I believe that we have the possibility of filling the first condition. Without taking into consideration the enormous output which there will be during the next few years from the Kaitaia Swamp, we have to realise that between Victoria Valley and the North of Awanui we have already a large tract of accessible dairying land, and in a later paragraph I will explain where nature has placed in our hands the possibility of leading this supply of milk to a central factory. I may here suggest that the policy of the Company in making additions to the present Factory has not been a wise one. It would have been a much better plan to have spent say £4OO in additions to machinery and repairs and spent the remaining £2,000 on a cheese plant. The old Factory would have been quite large enough to deal with home separated cream for a number of years. However the fact that we will be faced with a loss under this heading if we embark on a cheese venture must not unduly weigh with the directorate. The loss is now inevitable but will be largely compensated for by the increased profits derived from cheese. I am of opinion that the idea of erecting a dual plant at the present factory is out of the question, for two reasons, firstly where they are working under this system there is a continual wrangling and a discontent amongst the suppliers over the difference in prices which they, the butter and cheese men, are respectively receiving for their butterfat; secondly, I am of opinion that the Cheese Factory should be erected in the vicinity of Awanui, where already a fairly large concentrated supply could be obtained, and this could be augmented to an enormous extent by the construction of a light railway from there to Kaitaia, and thence up to Victoria Valley, ultimately junctioning with the Main Trunk Line, and by this means a further large supply could be obtained. I feel sure that the possibilities of this district warrants 11s in taking decided steps at once, and that the Government be urged to have the line authorised. Should they fail to do so, then we could use the powers given recently to County Councils, have a special rating area created, so that the Council could borrow the money and construct the line. Should both the before mentioned proposals fail then we should urge the Government to give a 40 years’ concession to a private company, such company to be bound to charge not more than the rates obtaining on the Government Railways for passengers and goods. I feel sure that if such concession were granted, that I would have no difficulty in raising the necessary capital in Auckland, and have the work put in hand in a reasonable time. Ido not think that there is any other part of New Zealand where nature has provided the settlers with the facilities for a light railway line at a moderate cost, the country being almost level and has the added advantage of having no bridges of any magnitude to construct. I estimate the cost of a light line from Unahi to Kaitaia at from £i,Boo to £1,500 per mile.

If the scheme for creating the special rating area is put forward it will undoubtedly be argued that this will be placing 100 great a burden on the shoulders of the settlers, and I will nowprocced to demonstrate that it will not only pay them handsomely at the outset but will be the means of saving them thousands of pounds during the next few years. Anyone who has watched the growth of traffic between Awanui and Kaitaia during the past twelve months must be convinced of the enormous expenditure we will have to face on this road alone when the drainage works are carried out. Already 1 understand something over £3OOO per mile has been spent on this road since it was opened, and probably another £I,OOO per mile will have to be expended to make it capable of carrying the heavy traffic of the next few years, whereas a comparatively small amount would make it capable of carrying the light traffic, with a light railway at the approximate cost which I have mentioned, to carry the heavy traffic, and at probably a third of the cost of the present expensive and obsolete system. With the drainage of the Swamp,, the clearing out of the river, and a light rail-

way, we would have one of the most attractive districts in New Zealand, and the whole could be done at a cost of not more than one pound per acre on the land within the present constituted drainage area. We will now consider the cost of an upto date Cheese Factory and Plant. A Factory to deal with the milk from 700 cows could be erected and equipped for £I7OO, a manager’s cottage would cost say £3OO, making a total expenditure of £2OOO, not including the cost of the site. In this estimate there is also included the cost of a large separator for separating the butter-fat from the whey and also from the milk during the first two months of the season when the milk is in a bad condition for cheese-making. The cream could be sent to the present Factory and manufactured at a moderate cost. The butter made from the whey represents an extra half penny per pound butter-fat to the producer, which is in itself an item worthy of consideration. My object in putting before you the scheme for the erection of a Cheese Factory and the construction of a light railway is to prevent a split in the Dairy Industry, which I see is inevitable if wc continue to adopt the methods of the past to organise on such lines as will give us the maximum amount for our butter-fat and to provide for a further means of developing and populating our neglected district.

That the scheme will meet with strenuous opposition I have not the slightest doubt, but I sincerely trust that my fellow Directors, who I take it are elected because they are amongst the most progressive and far-seeing men of the district, will give this matter their most serious consideration. If they view the position dispassionately, I have no fear of the result and in a few years they will look back with pleasure and pride on the day when they decided to embark on this practical and progressive scheme, the accomplish, ment of which, from a development point of view, will have done more for the district than has been accomplished for the past fifty years, and which will be the means of attracting hundreds of settlers who at the present time are firmly convinced that the North is an arid and useless waste.”