NEW ZEALAND DAIRY INDUSTRY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11716, 26 July 1901, Page 3 (Supplement)

NEW ZEALAND DAIRY INDUSTRY.

• NEW ZEALAND BUTTER AND CHEESE.. , , INTERESTING FACTS AND.FIGURES. The export of dairy produce from ■ New Zealand has grown so steadily and so surely that few people seem to realise that it has already reached to the third place in the list of agricultural products shipped out of this country, and at the,present time the dairying industry is developing so rapidly that it promises to surpass in the value of its exports the frozen meat industry and overtake the value of wool. a The value of dairy produce exported from New Zealand during the last, twelve months, according ; to; latest letum3, : has ■ reached £1,056,403. v '- '■■■:■■ For the same period the valus of frozen ; meat ex ported was about £2,000,000, and wool about £4,000,000; but the rate ofi increase in butter exports during the last few years has been sevenfold greater than wool and fourfold greater 'than frozen; meat. From 1891 to 1901, according to published statistics, the export of butter has increased from £100,258 in 1891 to £790,499 in 1901, and cheese during , the same period; has increased . from £86,675 to £265,904. A man must /be sanguine, of course, to imagine that this rate of increase will continue, : but -there .is no reason why -it should not ? continue to increase largely for years-to come; ,t At! the present time creameries are being established and daily factories built at almost as great, a rate as ever, and there is still an immense amount of dairying country yet to be settled. : : : ': : \ THE SHARE, OF THE PROVINCES. ■ > .". . -'. Its is somewhat interesting ~- to ■ note the share each province now holds in this great export trade:—Of butter, New? Plymouth exported during the * last ; twelve months 81,934cwt, . Wellington 44,379cwt, Port Chalmers / (including JDunedin) '■ ;•■ 37,026cwt, Auckland ; y;> 24,536cwt, and Lyttelton 10.031cwt. / The Bluff holds premier place in cheese with 30,132cwt, New Plymouth 25,832cwt. Wellington 20,665cwt, Port Chalmers 19,022cwt, Lyttelton 4442cwt, Auckland , 3754cwt, and a few smaller ■■"■ ports 1568cwt. For the preceding . year (18991900), Port Chalmers; New Plymouth, Patea, and Wellington almost tied for first place in ! cheese exports, with : over '. 22,000cwt each. Bluff followed with 18,024cwt,- Lyttelton 5658cwt- and Auckland 2535cwt. Southland has thus turned the tables during 1900-1. Lyttelton, it will be noticed, shows a decrease in cheese exported of 1216cwt.. This is attributed partially to larger sales for the local market. It is satisfactory to note that J the increase in butter exports for the year is j due solely to a larger creamery -output. '.'./•/In i this increase Auckland % took first honours i with an advance of oyer 45 per cent. ! -■/THE MARKETS FOR BUTTER. '. | The dairying industry promises still to develop very greatly in New Zealand. The climate and soils are exceedingly favourable for the cheap production of the highest quality of milk. In fact, it might be said that no country is more suitable for this class j of work, ; and its >. distance from the great markets of the world is not so serious a drawback as would be the case in more bulky and less valuable products. - Britain alone imports over £17,000,000 worth of butter: annually, and of this amount Denmark supplies nearly one-half, or over £8,000,000 worth. "''" France, '■/ Holland, /and Sweden each supply over £1,000,000 worth.: Denmark, the chief supplier, has no special advantages in/ regard . to % climate, soil, or pasturage. -The country has,to import large quantities of feed for its dairy herds. . In 1899 that country ' imported nearly 600,000 tons of hay, 185,000 tons of oil cake, 72,000 tons of bran, and over 500,000 tons of maize. Nearly all this material; was used by the Danish -dairy fanners,/" and yet these men have made their dairy industry the greatest in the world, and regularly receive from 10s to 12s per cwt more for their butter than is obtained by the makers of other countries, y: There is no reason why New Zealand should not compete successfully with Denmark both as regards quality of butter and quantity. The reasons assigned for the high quality /of "Danish butter are the scientific management of '<~ the dairy ,factories/and/the universal practice of pasteurising milk. New Zealahders can; if they like, copy the scientific : management, perhaps /; surpass it, and then have in their favour their unrivalled climate. and their magnificent pastures. THE FACTORY SYSTEM. ■'.''ln New Zealand a well-equipped plant for a modern dairy factory costs from £1000 to £2500, and the : cost of running a ■ factory averages /about/ £d per lb of butter or cheese produced. The price paid by the factory to the milk suppliers ranges from B£d ;' to ' 10£ d ' per lb of butter-fat, and in some cases up to: Is has been i given,/the higher figures in nearly all cases being given by the co-operative factories. These prices, compared with the 4d to 6d per lb given for ordinary farmers' butter show why the • factory system has grown in New Zealand, and what an immense advantage it has been to the farmer himself. It has not only given him nearly 100 per cent, advance in price, but it ! has given him fresh skim-milk for his ) pigs I and calves, relieved his women-folk from the \abour of making butter, and saved him the trouble: of j finding precarious, markets with distant storekeepers -and J unreliable agents. The profits of ] dairy factories lin New Zealand have not generally been made known to the public, and there is no means of obtaining a general average. ' / Returns are available, however, for ; 21 dairying companies at work in Victoria, which show striking results. "The total capital invested by these 21 dairies is £53,981, and the net profit shown by the half-yearly balancesheets is 42i \ per cent, on the half year's undertaking. 1 " Little - wonder," s ; remarks the compiler of these figures, " that the proprietary companies fight hard against; farmers' ; co-operative dairy factories." / \' COMPARATIVE VALUE OF NEW" ZEALAND DAIRY PRODUCE. / - In quality New Zealand dairy produce ranks high, its butter commanding in the British markets something like 4s to 5s per cwt more than the New South Wales product and 2s to 2s 6d more than that from Victoria. It averages, however, nearly 8s per cwt lower : than Danish butter, and no New Zealand factory manager should rest until )it equals, or ,surpasses, in/quality the enormous imports from that country. / In cheese New Zealand occupies a unique position/in/the British markets, the /best brands commanding a higher price than any of the same class imported. #. It has the advantage; of arriving in England at a time of the ; year ' ,when ■ prices are : high ; and -■.when there is no other fresh cheese of its class to compete with. Its cool, mild flavour suits the popular taste, and 4 there seems every chance of it finding a large market at profitable prices. Colonial experts in London declare that New Zealand cheddar should compete with ' English and Scotch brands, but as a rule it commands nearly 10s per cwt less in the open market. •/ NEW ZEALAND DAIRY FACTORIES. The success of the New Zealand dairy export trade is due to the factory system of production, and to the grading system by which the exports are classified. The factory system was slow in establishing itself in New- Zealand, when once established its development was exceedingly vapid./, Fifteen years ago there were two dairy factories in New Zealand, and now the number of factories working are as follows:— '■':■■■ ' _', ' Factories. ': Creameries. Auckland ... ._ ... 31 -51 Taranaki ... ...... 101 53 Wellington ... ...46 -52Hawke's Bay ...... 9- 3 Nelson ... ... .... 6 / 0 Marlborough ' ..'. »-.'... 5 •• ;: 0': Weßtland ... ... ... : 3 , 2 Canterbury ...... 17 14 Otago, including Southland :.. ... ... 43 30 Totals ... v ... ; ... 261 ■/'•■' /'• 200 / DAIRYING IN AUCKLAND. The dairying industry is . making greater strides in Auckland than in any. other province, partly because it; was taken up later here, partly because dairying land can be obtained i cheaper here than elsewhere, g and partly because the mild climate enables grass and . stock to thrive all ; the year, round. -•■; In the northern; peninsula, on the East Coast, in the Waikato and the King Country, there is room for hundreds and hundreds of new farms and ; dozens of great i factories. ; The opening up of native and Crown lands in these districts should be the main object of our / northern politicians, for, ; besides the dairying industries there is the frozen meat ■industry, which can be greatly extended by , the ppenißg up. of new; cqun.try 4 :.<-:,.

In the Auckland province during 1900 ■ there was "an increase iof creamery butter of= 90 per cent, over ) 1899. ? For 1901 there is already an increase of 45 per cent., as compared with the season of 1900. //Three; large butter; and cheese factories' with attendant - creameries are' to" be ; started this year , north ;of Auckland, s and three in the Waikato district,: whilst several others are being arranged for. :,/; During 1899 the export >of creamery butter from Auckland to Great Britain amounted to 12,120 iewt packages. In 1900 the total was 23,538 Jcwt cases, while in 1901' the amount has already /reached 50,000- iewt cases. This does not include the export to Australia or the Islands, and the trade with these countries 'is ; increasing rapidly. > The quality of Auckland dairy produce, y both butter and -■[ cheese, '(■■ is < rapidly improving. Some of the old factories were indifferently equipped with machinery, but these are giving place to new buildings, fitted with the latest appliances, including refrigerators, which latter appliances have, a great effect on the quality of produce in this warm climate. ■;,-:, - ■;■ -;■'';:;,"■:'/-■"