DAIRY PRODUCE CONTROL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19495, 26 November 1926, Page 8

DAIRY PRODUCE CONTROL.

Sir, —The report in Wednesday's Herald of a meeting of committeemen of the New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Company, Ltd., held at Otorohar.ga. -.alls for some comment. The resolution claims that these committeemen represent over 500 dairy farmers. I can vouch for the fact that, at no time during the past four years, has the attendance of committeemen at Ototohanga exceeded ten in number. These conferences are of a private nature, and are not open to the press. Surely a better way of gauging the opinion of dairy farmers on these grave issues would be for a referendum to be taken, say, on tht> questions of compulsion and price-fixing. I am convinced that if this course were adopted, there would be an overwhelming majority against the continuance of a policy which is rapidly depriving New Zealand butter of the goodwill it has taken so many years to build up in London. The dairy farmers have never had an opportunity of voting on compulsion or pricefixing in the marketing of New Zealand butter. Speaking as a dairy farmer, I say that, if, instead of passing resolutions of the above nature, which really do not represent the genuine opinion of tbo farmers, a referendum were to be taken on tho questions of compulsion and pricefixing, I am convinced that both proposals would be rejected by an overwhelming majority. A. H. Parish.