SHORTAGE OF MILK

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22030, 9 February 1935, Page 12

SHORTAGE OF MILK

NO FEED FOR HERDS ' YIELDS FALLING FAST'M SERIOUS DEVELOPMENTS - WILLOW USED AS FODDER f [BY TELEGRAPH —OWN" C'OItRESPOVDEVtI CHRISTCHURCH. Friday The absence of feed for dairy he has caused a serious milk shortage in Canterbury, and the position iis becom. ing worse as the drought continue*, Milk supplies to dairy companies and distributors dropped at leash 15 pg f cent in January and are still falling So far, nothing has been done to meet the emergency and no suggestion been made that milk should be rationed. However, so serious is the position with some of the smaller milkmen that they have had to buy milk from larger producers to meet their requirements for domestic consumption.. Yesterday an official connected with the Boys' High School fete endeavoured to get 20 gallons of milk for use afternoon tea. He got in touch with one of the bigger dairymen, and was told that he could not possibly vide that amount of milk. After many further endeavours, the official was ahle to secure 20 gallons and no more from one of the dairy companies. Cheese Quality Suffers The absence of green feed has had an adverse effect- on the butter-fat con« tent of the milk, and the records kept by one dairy company show that in January the figure was approximately 25 per cent below normal. Dairy fao tories on the peninsula, 1 as elsewhere, find the milk deficient in casein,, and the quality of cheese has suffered in consequence. In some of the penin. sula bays willow branches ere being cut down and fed to the stock, ai there is no other fodder. Other dairymen are using up hay stored for winter feed. Eay is ,■ not usually given to cattle until tbs b* ginning; of May, and those who are noif using it are wondering what they are going to do later in the season. " Worse Every Day " "We are just hanging on," said one dairy farmer. "The milk yield from my cows is falling fast and the position is becoming worse every day. 1 used to get 100 gallons a day normally, and now I am getting only 76 gallons. 1 ' His summing up applied to the re. marks of a dozen other dairymen ques<' tioned. On one peninsula farm the milk yield has fallen by half, although this' is. an extreme case. In most other districts the yields are down from 10 to 20 per cent. One of the peninsula dairy factories which was receiving 2100 gallons of milk daily at the height of the season in November is now getting 112(1 gal. lons a day. The factory was receiving 1500 gallons a day at the same data last year, without the milk from five extra suppliers who have come in t]£§ season.