DAIRYING PROSPECTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20656, 30 August 1930, Page 8

DAIRYING PROSPECTS.

MORRINSVILLE PROGRESS. PRODUCTION OF FACTORIES. LOWER MANUFACTURING COSTS. I [by our special commissioner.] No. Vir. Rlorrinsville is rapidly becoming a very i/nportant dairying centre. Its geographical position gives it command of a largo area of good land, much of which / is only partly developed. To tho north roads give it communication with tho western parts of tho ilau-l-aki I'laiu, while its threo railway seclions. besides tapping splendid dairying country to the eastward, make it certain of participating in the development of -•hat greater extent of unreclaimod swamp Hand which lies between its boundaries and the River. These extensive areas of flat land in its vicinity will not bo devoted entirely to dairy farming, for a big fla,x-growing industry has already been established and one can see in every direction great, plantations of tho Fhormium tenax, which, with selection of good vane, ties and cultivation, will give it enormous supplies of the raw material for Juturo use. Tho rolling downs country in its vicinity, by the uso of fertilisers, is proving to bo good sheep farming land, where tho raising of fat lambs will yearly extend, and these threo industries will certainly make Moirinsvillo steadily expand. Great Butter Production. There nrp two dairy factories almost aide by side .near the Moirinsvillo railway junction, and these two factories last season manufactured 3528 tons 01. butter. As ail indication of the rapid growth of butter production here, I may mention thai the locally owned and governed cooperative factory in 1923 had only 90 suppliers and an output of only 247 tons, while in 1930 it had 315 suppliers and an output of 1577 tons. Considering that the adjoining factory, which is run by the New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Company, Limited, has built up an output of 1951 tons, it will be seen how dairying is progressing in this part of tho Auckland province. I had an interesting talk with tho manager of the local factory, Mr. A. M. Stirling, on tho subject of economics in production and working expenses so as to meet, the period of low prices. He showed me that during tho past six years the reduction in manufacturing costs had amounted to ?d per lb. of butter, in spite of an increase rather than a deciease in wages. He also pointed out that tho proportion of butter graded superfine during this period had increased from a very modest perecentage up to 90 per cent., which means, of course, a corresponding increase in tho monetary retuins. die Value of Ensilage. When I asked Mr. Stirling how the farmer could reduce his costs and increase his returns, he stated that undoubtedly this could be done apart from any increase in the overseas market-price of butter by breeding best type of cow, weeding out all inferior animals, by rotational grazing so as to obtain the best results from pastures, and by the uso of ensilage and hay. Mr. Stirling was emphatic in declaring that the farmers must make a good class of ensilage if they wished to produce a good grade of cream, on which j depends the superfine grade of butter. After seeing for myself what high returns can Ibe obtained from land to-day by modern methods of farming, I can say •with confidence that dairying can be made just as profitable with butter-fat at its present low level of prices as it was when prices were a good deal higher. So great has been tho increase from herds due to good breeding and feeding, so great has been tho increase fioui pastures duo to the uso of fertilise] s, that some farms I know are yielding doublo and more than doublo what they were yielding a decado ago, while the increased cost of working has certainly not increased to any great extent beyond the value of manures used. I can find moro pessimists in a short walk up Queeri Street than I could find in some hundreds of miles of travel among dairy farmers; and it is certain that increases in farm production and decreases in manufactuiing costs will continue.