CHEESE FOR BRITAIN

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23722, 31 July 1940, Page 8

CHEESE FOR BRITAIN

In spite of very considerable difficulties of organisation, dairy farmers in the Waikato and elsewhere have clearly demonstrated their willingness to respond to the appeal for an increased cheese production during the coming season. The necessity arises from the British Government's request that New Zealand should supply at least 15,000 tons of cheese over and above normal' exports, which, in recent years, have fluctuated between 80,000 and 85,000 tons. An increased cheese production of approximately 18 per cent is thus demanded and for this to be speedily organised there must be some dislocation in the established conduct of the dairy industry. Suppliers who change over from butter to cheese will have to meet extra costs, arising from the necessity of providing more cans and

meeting higher transport charges, while suppliers of cream for butter may also suffer from the effect of reduced butter output on manufacturing costs. In many instances dairy companies have shown a gratifying readiness to tackle these difficulties by an extension of those co-oper-ative methods from which the success of their industry has grown and that makes it all the more regrettable that officials of the Morrinsville Co-operative Dairy Company should have occasion to complain over departmental apathy in the matter. They have asked for advice in Wellington as to how the position should be met and have found that Government officials in the main are unwilling to accept any responsibility. This is merely another instance of the lack of real leadership given by the Government in the planning of production, but at least the dairy farmers, unlike the meat producers, have had a definite objective placed before them. Their best course is to attain that objective and then to discuss outstanding difficulties with the Marketing Department on a basis of ascertained facts.