MILK SUPPLY TO FACTORIES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1156, 27 April 1894, Page 6

MILK SUPPLY TO FACTORIES.

(Pahiatua Herald.) We notice with pleasure the paragraph appearing in another column, reporting the decision arrived at by the Mangatainoka milk suppliers on Saturday last, of giving an additional £lb of milk per gallon to the factory, thus j raising the weight per gallon from lOlbs, as at present, to lOJlbs. The new arrangement is not coming into force, we believe, till the Ist September next. It is obvious to any practical mind at all acquainted with the nature of this industry that, for New Zealand to make it a" thorough success, the grower and manufacturer must be in thorough accord with one another ; their mutual interest demanding that their business relations should be of such a nature as will allow a fair margin of profit for both parties to the agreement. The system which has hitherto obtained in the Forty Mile Bush factories of accepting lOlbs as the weight of a gallon of milk has been found to bo the cause of serious loss to the factories, especially daring the early months of the season, viz , September, October an i November, also frequently part of December, when feed, though plentiful as to quantity, is deficient in quality ; and the percentage of butter-fat not present in sufficient quantity to enable the factory proprietors to obtain a pound of butter from 25lbs of milk on the whole of the supply, which it was absolutely necessary to obtain, or else incur a serious losa. Later on in the summer months, when the feed hardened, the percentage of butter fat correspondingly increased; but unfortunately for this colony we are separated by 16,000 miles of water from our best and only reliable market, viz., London, and by the time our butter made in the middle, not to mention later and better, part of the summer months reaches Loudon, a fall has already taken p'ace in the prices ruling for butter, and the profit has dwindled down to nothing. Consequently, though the factories are better placed as regards returns from the milk received, yet they are unable to make up the loss incurred in the earlier months, as the prices have hitherto full en so low as to render this recovery impossible. There is one remedy which might be used to minimise this loas to the proprietors, namely, that of paying by test; but it is a wellknown fact that most of our settlers, hard-working and with many difficulties in the way of bad roads, etc., to contend with, would not care to accept less thait 3d per gallon for milk even though it is not up to the standard of 3.G per cent, of butter-fat, and we cannot blame them, considering the labour and trouble cow keeping very often involves. The general basis on which milk is supplied to the New Zealand factories is lllbs per gallon and in a few cases 10Jib, but we conscieniiously believe Mr J. VV. Dottridge's factories are the only instances of a 101 b basis. Rumours have been heard lately, and we are in a position to vouch for their truth, that another prominent company engaged in the butter industry have been inspecting the various factories with a view to buying them. We sin*

cerely hope that Mr J. W. Dottridge, who, by hia investment of capital in this part, has caused considerable sums of money to circulate amongst our dairy farmers, will see fit to reconsider his with to dispose of hia interests in the factories when ho, through his agents in Wellington, receives the news that their milk-suppliers to the various factories have conceded the lib per gallon, which, individually, does not amount to much, but, in the aggregate, will make a considerable difference to the returns from the factories. The company which wishes to acquire Mr Dottridge's interests is at present receiving lllbs per gallon, and would undoubtedly require the same from any intending suppliers hero once they took possession. Once more wc congratulate the suppliors to the Mangatainoka factory on the good sense and business instincts displayed by them on Saturday last in entering into the new.arrangement.