DAIRYING NOTES AND NEWS. (New Zealand Dairyman for April.)

Otago Witness, Issue 2409, 3 May 1900, Page 7

DAIRYING NOTES AND NEWS. (New Zealand Dairyman for April.)

The New ZeaTaii'd Dairy Association intends to establish a cheesd factory at Raglan. It ,is to be completed in time to commence operations at tb& beginning of next season. The btitter - export* from New Plymouth for March Svere 22,731 packages, and cheese I 3878 packages, making a total since Ist Septembor of 143,036 cases of butter and 12,726 packages of cheese, the estimated value of which is over £350,000/ ' ' Mr. Thomson, secretary of the Dannevirke butter and cheese factory, has received an intimation from the- Government grader that 28 cases of the factoiy's cheese graded 93 per cent. " As 88 per cent, constitutes firstclass -cheese, the' return is' a splendid one. Another creamery ia to ba started at -Mafima (Forty. Mile Bush' district). MessrsBeach, Gripe, Knight, Jamieeon, and Lund have been" elected permanent directors, while Mr Lund wili conduct the secretarial work. The guarantee of cows Jotg-ls 250 st jusaen^.

and it. is anticipated thatr there- will' be no difficulty in increasing the number when once operations are 'fairly under way.

During the month of February 108.829 gal of milk were delivered at the Rongotea Butter Factory. This produced 49,9721b of butter. The suppliers received £1467 " 17s 6d. It t00k' 23.161b of milk "to make 118 o.fTmtter. The average test was 3;9j and 3608 gal were delivered on the last day of the month. For February, 1899, there were 101,'?96gal milk, producing 43,5b01b butter, and the suppliersobtained w£1328w £1328 8s 9d. The average test was 3.8. „, „ , . The Cheltenham Dairy " Company purpose still further extension of^their fi^ld of. opera; tions. At the request j'Eettle'rs in the vicinity they -have decided to erect a creamery on the Feild-ing-Ashursu road, on a site on Mr Fairfieki Thompson's property (says the Star). Tiie creamery .will be ready mi time for the o]:ening v of .next, season. -Two hundred «o\Vfc, bave already been promised, and the requisite number of shares taken up to enable 'Ire i:c-mj.any to undertake the work proposed.

During the last year the Ballance Dairy Company has experienced a greater amount i of prosperity than has hitherto been its lot, and, as our readers all know, that has been greater than has been the lot of most companies in the' colony. • For the year it is expected that' fhe prices will show an average increase of id per lb of butter fat on the prices paid for the last year. Thus result'] must be admitted to be extraordinarily satis- j factory, and we are sure that all those who ] follow the progress of this enterprising company will extend to the shareholders and the j directorate the full meed of congratulation that such a state of affairs, should evoke. The pay-sheet at the Ballance Co-operative Dairy j Factory for' the month just closing will be about £2750.

Increase of dairy produce output in Manawatu, Wellington, and Hawke's Bay districts this season is put down as 170 per een.i.";"in ! advance of last y,ear. The figures of the I JNlanawatu, Wairarapa, and Hawke's Bay out- j "puts are as follows: — For' the year ending,, March 31. 1899, 28,000 packages'^- for th*e yea\! ! .ending March 31," 1900, 76,533 ''packages; an j increase for the past 12 months" of 48,4-4-4-packages. This is scarcely fair to Taranaki, stating that the districts named are ahead of any other districts in Mie colony (says the Budget). JL'he exports from Taranaki for seven months, September;' 1899, to -March, 1900, inclusive, amounted to 14-2,036 boxes of butter,' besides a large quantity of cheese, nearly double the "southern districts' output j for the whole year. No one could possibly i have expected an increase of 170 per cent., as our contemporary suggests, in. this, dictrict, for that would mean a jump from 125,909 boxes in the seven months- of last season to 339,954- "this season. As it is, the increase is about 17,000 boxes of butter, and 3000 of cheese. It will take the Wellington and Hawke's Bay districts some time "yet to^catohv US IJ^v. The past season has been extremely favourable" for dairying -throughout .\ths , South Island. The slimmer was* marked. \ _by^< an - abundant ;,.-* rainfall,, with, a fiu^li of grass- thai .favoured a<~.g'ood .milk supply. , During-. the earlier;" months of the iseason' the quality' of cheese sent'forwardwas all that could be" desired ; But/ the later months witnessed' an inexplicable falling off. in quality. • This may in part be accounted for by the multiplicity^ of factories .throughout the - country districts. . fa'c- . Tories are , unhealthy, rivalry is set up, -a*id .-factory "managers/arcJ^not too fastidious about. tHe quality os\millr supplied. This is undoubtedly the secret of' the 1 whole affair,- as "poor millc will' not' make good cheese/. The only remedy is" for "the* New Zealand Dairy Association to take the matter up and insist upon all the associated factories observing a standard, which, of course, can only be maintained by adopting the system that has given puch excellent results in the Taieri and Peninsula Butter Factory.' Unless the farmer who sells poor milk can be penalised, and the one who sells rich milk rewarded, it isVtp be feared the unstable- character of much*' of the New Zealand cheese cannot be remedied.