TARANAKI CONDITIONS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 6313, 13 September 1907, Page 3

TARANAKI CONDITIONS

FEED NOT TOO PLENTIFUL. Mr J. W. Foreman, president of the National Dairy Association, who is at pxesent in Wellington, states that on account of the failure of turnip crops in Taranaki, paddosks are very bare. Where farmers put their faith in ensilage, however, their stock, as well as their pastures, are in better order. There is very little growth in grass at present,. though what there is is equal to what has been experienced in some of the best seasons the province has enjoyed Those who manage their farms well —giving certain paddocks a couple of week’s rest—secure a good bite for their cows, but too often cows have come to milk on stunted grass. With fine weather, Mr Foreman says, the grass will soon rush ahead. The Co-operative Freezing Works Company at Moturoa, says Mr Foreman, has reduced the cost of freezing and handling butter from 7d to 6d a box. The former charge of 7d, however, does not represent the actual cost to shareholders, as the company has just divided the profits for tho past three years among shareholders, thus bringing the cost to them down to 4d a box. The profits were declared after allowing a liberal depreciation on the works. The charge at Wellington is Gd a box, but this includes wharfage, which is a separate charge to factories shipping through the Moturoa works.