DAIRYING INDUSTRY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20869, 11 May 1931, Page 5

DAIRYING INDUSTRY.

OUTLOOK FOR PRODUCERS.

QUESTION OF PAY-OUT,

LONDON STOCK POSITION

A reply to some statements appearing in an article published in the Herald last Thursday, which struck an optimistic note in regard to the dairy industry, has been made by Mr. T. C. Brash, secretary to the Dairy Board. It was true that the stock position in London, as far as butter was concerned, was fairly healthy and consumption had been increased —due to. low prices and the well-sustained advertising being carried on by the Dairy Board,

It was true also, as stated in the samo article, that the average production per cow in New Zealand had increased in recent years. This had been due to the increase in the amount of herd testing being carried on, and, while the Government had assisted in this work, the cost of it had largely been borne by the dairy producer himself. 11l • should bo mentioned, too, that for the coming season, owing to the difficulty which the dairy, fanner was finding in. keeping the "flour bag full," there was a great danger of his being unable to continue with the work of herd testing. The points in the article which tended to be misleading, he said, were, firstly, the statement that a well-run butter factory should pay out Is to Is Id on home-separated cream for the present season. As a matter of fact, the average pay-out by butter factories was inoro likely to be in the nature of lid than Is Id, and it was interesting to note that the average pay-out for butter factories in the 1913-14 season was Is.

The statement that the great bulk of the butter and cheese for the present season had been already sold also tended to convey a wrong impression, as up to the present date only two-thirds of the season's butter had been sold and threefifths of the season's cheese.