NATIONAL DAIRY ASSOCIATION.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXII, Issue 8842, 19 June 1907, Page 4

NATIONAL DAIRY ASSOCIATION.

The annual meeting was held ill | he A. and P. Association Hall yes- | ,erday morning, the President (Mr | f, W. Foreman) presiding. There I ,vas a large attendance of delegates. [n the annual report, which was circulated, satisfaction was expressed j with the operations of the year, in[licated' by an increased membership roll and additional business, and it was stated a further development had taken place in the matter of the opening of a London agency. lor the period included in the balancesheet the turn-over amounted to £56,000, and the profit and loss account showed a credit balance of £216 8s lid. The number of members was 9-1, as against 92 for previous year. During the year four co-operative factory companies had i joined the Association. The first shipment of new season butter was j earlier than formerly, having been j forwarded by tbe ICaramea fiom j Wellington on September 13th, 1906, . and arrived in London on October t 20th. It consisted of 1553 boxes. The record shipment, which was 54.121 boxes, bad been forwarded by the Paparoa. The first shipment j of cheese, consisting of 1214- cases, | went by the Kumara on October 18th. The Ilimutaka, which sailed on February 14th, 1907, carried 12,141 cas.es, the record shipment. The 1906-7' season was undoubtedly the most favourable known to the industry in the colony. Butter sold freely at from to lid, f.0.b., but unfortunately "the anticipations of the pure] Kisers had not been real--1 ised, for a steady decline took place 1 from 117 s on 16th November to 97s on May 9th, 1907. Owing to this j state of the market large stocks had j accumulated in the colony, out of j ail proportion to local requirements, 1 and must net detrimentally on the \ first shipments of the new season’s I supplies. The rates of freight, under existing contract, were arranged as | follows: —Is 9d per box of butter, I and §d per lb for cheese, coastal | freight paid to the end of June, £ 1907. It was expected that with the knowledge of the industry posi scssed by Mr Charles Mackie, the appointed English agent, and his cartful supervision of shipments on arrival, would materially assist and promote the dairy industry of N.Z. Reference was made in the report to a recent decision of the Supreme Court in the working of co-operative i dairy companies. A company was j sued" by one. of its members for an S order restraining it from extending | its -operations to non-members, from borrowing and lending money eonI travy to the memorandum of associa [ tion.. The order having been granted, j might act as a deterrent in prevent- ! ing suppliers leaving a factory of j which they were shareholders, and | selling milk to another in which they 1 had no interest. In connection u ith 1 the demands of the Dairymen’s Emj ployees’ Industrial Union of Workers | for* shorter hours and increased S wager, the Executive was strongly of \ opinion that if the demands were given effect to it would result in many creameries having to be closed, and this would act prejudicially against the interests of suppliers. The Chairman, in proposing the adoption of report and balance-sheet, said the quality of dairy produce now being (reported was satisfactory. Tin; increase in quantity had not I Ik on so largo as had been anticipated | some years agm nevertheless, it was | pleasing to state that its value for j vaa v 'ending 30th April had been two f million pounds. Ho referred briefly ■j to the act ion of the Factory Oper- | atives Union, and expressed the !* opinion that it would have the result of injuring the factory system, as » many' suppliers would be induced to | get separators for themselves if the i rate of wages demanded was excessive. He pointed out that the finances of the Association were sound, and referred to the intention of the Government to amend the Co-operative Dairy Companies’ Act in the direction asked for by the last Conference. He pointed out also that judging from the cabled provisions of tiie British Butter Bill, providing as it would for the sale of dairy produce under their true denominations, that it would be satisfactory to the dairy industry. The motion was seconded by Mr Adams.

I General questions were replied to I by the Chairman relative to balanceS sheet and report, and ho stated what | steps had been taken in the matter |of freights, and pointed out | that much reduction in charges could | not be expected before the expiration I of the present agreement. | Guring the discussion, I Mr Johns contended that factory (.companies ought to purchase all they required from the Association. The Chairman said they could see by the balance-sheet that the Association took a very small profit. In the interest of co-operation the companies should support the Association, for the Association had been the means of lowering the cost of supplies. The report and balance sheet were adopted. it was resolved, u That the allowance to the Chairman, namely £2O, and to the directors £lO each, be • granted.” | The three retiring directors, Messrs fJ, W. Foreman, A. Morton and T. ; L. J oil, were re-olected, and Mr C. D. Morpeth was re-elected auditor. Mr Tlarkness moved, “ That this meeting learns with regret that the valuable collection known as the Government Agriculture Museum, which has been collected at great expense and trouble in the past, has been dismantled and is not now available for inspection, and strongly urges upon the Government the I necessity, in the interests of proJduears, of finding a permanent home I for the same,” 1 Mr Tlarkness said Mr Kirk had I taken a great interest in making the collection, which had occupied many years. It consisted of all kinds of fibres, plants, and grains with the forms and diseases to which .they were liable. Experts from Australia and South Africa had declared that itjwas the most valuable collection in the Southern Hemisphere. At present it was packed away in a cellar. He said it would have formed a good subject for the late Farmers’ Conference rather than some they had discussed. Mr Percy thought it would be a good idea to send the motion to th e Farmers’ Executive. The motion was adopted. Mr Morton moved, “That this meeting of members of the National Dairy Association and representatives of the dairy industry strongly ui’ge upon Government the advisability of appointing a dairy expert, whose duty it would be to examine N.Z, dairy produce and act under the instruction of the N.Z. Commissioner,”

In support of the motion Mr Morton stated that it was by the combination of thirty companies that Mr Mackio had been appointed, but they wanted to go a step further. The late Premier had been favorable to the proposal.. Mr Todd seconded the motion. Mr Ouddie, Chief Dairy Commissioner, said it seemed to him the time bad arrived when they should

liave a practical man at Home who could report on the condition of the dairy produce on its arrival there, and as a matter of fact he had made a recommendation to the Department to that effect. He was not in a position to say what the Department intended to do, though he had no doubt the proposal would receive sympathetic consideration. Sometimes butter with a high grade leaving New Zealand did not turn out well, and they would like to know why, but they had nothing definite at present to go upon. In some cases he thought agents did not report on the inferior quality of butter on arrival, in fear of injuring their trade, and sometimes his Department had passed on complaints to compaI nies who otherwise would not have ! heard of them.

Mr Middleton said it was true agents who called attention to an inferior quality lost their agency. That had been his experience. Mr Ellison said his experience was that some factories maintained one grade while the produce of others though obtaining first grade was better left alone. Ho thought there was something wrong with the grading system when it could not give an indication of the cause.

Mr Cuddie said it would be impossible to grade butter at the other end. All butter deteriorated from the time of its manufacture and sometimes a low grade butter appeared to keep better. It was pointed out by the Chairman and others that Canada and other dairy exporting countries had had for some years such advisory agents in England. The motion was adopted. The • Chairman said it was the intention to obtain an interview with the Minister of Lands with regard to the enforcement of the labour regulations in butter factories.

Mr Whittaker said his Company had challenged the Factory Inspector to enforce them and he had not. After some discussion which indicated that the regulations referred to were not very clearly understood, the Chairman withdrew the subject from discussion.

Mr J. Griffiths proposed : “ That this Conference support the Government in the matter of their proposed inspection, to be put in force by the Agricultural Department, in .connect tion with the supply of milk to dairy factories and creameries." This motion, he said, was the result of the deliberation of the committee set up to consider the question of a better and cleaner milk supply, and after a consultation with Mr Clifton, Government Inspector. Mr Harkness, in seconding the motion, said it was intehded by such an appointment to assist farmers to improve their yards, and instruct and help them as far as possible in bringing about an improvement in the milk supply. Several speakers objected to the proposed tax of one penny a head on cattle. One who declared that he milked by machinery and was most particular as to the state of his yard, said he would be penalised for the careless.

Mr Nicholson said Government could undertake the duty where, by his experience,- the dairy companies could not, as suppliers were apt to consider they were not treated impartially. Not only was it necessary to see to the state of the yards, but also to the health and condition of the cows,- '

Mr Perry said it was the experience of his company that some inspection was a necessity in order to prevent dirty milk being delivered. Mr Clifton said the idea was to inaugurate a system of supervision and assistance, rather than inspection, such system to operate in regard to the sale of milk for human consumption, a sort of extension of the system of inspection of city supply. There would be registration of milk suppliers with a nominal charge of, say, 2s fid up to ten cows, and 5s over that number. It was proposed to establish testing stations under the charge of Mr Cuddie, and the supervisors of these stations would be empowered to make tests of milk to enable dairymen to know the milk-giving qualities of their cows. At present a large proportion of the pigs reared in dairy districts were infected with tuberculosis, and he thought such a system would assist materially to eliminate the disease.

Mr Murray spoke of the necessity of practical men being appointed as supervisors and not city men. Mr Riddell, a dairyman of large experience, said the appointment of such inspectors or supervisors would be the best step ever taken for the dairy industry. The motion was adopted. It- was decided to hold a meeting during the evening to discuss the Union movement among the factory operators, the meeting not to be open to the Press,