CAUTION ADVISED

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 10541, 18 March 1920, Page 7

CAUTION ADVISED

DRIED MILK SCHEMES RESULT OF GOVERNMENT EXPERT'S TOUR. Mr W. Dempster, of the New Zealand Department of Agriculture, who was font abroad by tho Government recently" to make inquiries concerning the establishment of the much-boomed dried-milk industry in New Zealand, has written a lengthv statement on the subject. In tho course of this he furnishes details of 'tho operations in the various countries visited. In California many factories were visited, also Canada and Holland. It was stated that the United Kingdom imported in 1918, 9,977,4051bs of milk powder, and manufactured 1,121,7901 b. niakimr a total of 11,099,1981bs consumed in tho country. In addition _to milk powder tho United Kingdom imported 5,600.0001bs of dried milk. New Zealand heading tho list with 38,335 cwt, United States and Australia coming next.

RECOMMENDATIONS TO NEW ZEALAND. •

"That the demand for milk-powder exceeds present production is certain," continues Mr Dempster, "but how much 'further production can be increased without exceeding demand is hard to gauge. When the railk-powder industry started in America this phase of the business was considered, and only • buildings of a temporary nature were erected. Now that the milk-powder business is more firmly established more permanent buildings are being erected, so that the erection of temporary buildings is not to be recommended. If it came to the survival of tho fittest New Zealand would be one of those countries to survive, provided the quality of the powder was equal to that of other countries. There is every reason to believe that our powojer should be equal to, if not better than, any produced, as our cows o-re mostly grass-fed and our pastures good. If we do not succeed it will be because the manufacturer or farmer has failed to carry out the good work which the cows begin. We can produce milk more cheaply than anv country, thanks to our climate, rainfall, and the milking-ma-chine. We have-less money invested in land and 'buildings per cow than any country visited. In the Western States of America dairying takes .£lO5 to .£llO worth of land per cow, the middle west ,£llO to <fil2o. and the Eastern States Xl3O to .£l3O. In Holland the amount is about .£3OO per cow. In New Zealand our cows are much lower in money value than in the countries referred, to. The facts bear weight when considering the future development of dairying, as a dairy-farmer can start -in New Zealand with less capital than in almost any country supplying the world market. COAL AN EXPENSIVE ITEM.

"I could get very little reliable data regarding the cost of manufacture of milk-powder. Most of the manufacturers aro proprietary concerns, and the matter of cost touches on pTivato affairs. The cost, however, is somewhere in the vicinity of 3d to 3Jd per pound of finished powder. I found the cost of manufacture of butter to be much tho same, hut. if anything, higher than it is in New Zealand. Coal is a very expensive item, and will be one of the deciding factors for a company contemplating the erection of a milk-powder factory, the quantity required for a SOOO-cow factory being between 5 and 6 tons per day. Without a guaranteed coal 6\tpply or" equivalent supply' of electric powei for heating, it would be useless. to contemplate making milk-powder. To manufacture milk-powder of the finest quality it is necessary to have the milk delivered both morning and evoning; therefore two shifts of men are required at tho factory. WATCH—AND WAIT! "As tho future of while satisfied that the present suppl) to the British market does not meet the demand, I would recommend our New Zealand dairy companies in suitable localities, before undertaking the manufacture of milk-powder, to watch the ef. feet which the additional 3000 tons from the Dominion, the manufacture of which haa already been arranged for, will have on the market. Such increase from New Zealand (with a further large increase to follow) will, in my opinion, he too much for the British market to absorb in one year. The securing of men skilled in the manufacture of milk-powder Is another point; in fact, bo vital that caution is to bo recommendel even were it certain that no country, hut New Zealand was contemplating immediate extension of the industry."