MANGATOKI DAIRYING

Taranaki Daily News, 7 August 1930, Page 7

MANGATOKI DAIRYING

TO PLANT PROBLEM OF CHEESE QUALITY. *VERY SATISFACTORY SEASON.” The 30th annual meeting of the Alangatoki Dairy Company was held yesterday, Air. R. H. Free presiding over pn attendance of about 50 shareholders. In moving the adoption of the report land balance-sheet the chairman said [very satisfactory results had been attained for the year’s operations despite the [unfavourable markets, the average price for on the London market being about 91s 7Jd per ewt. as against .82s Old per cwt. for the past season. Costs to f.o.b. ocean steamer showed' fe considerable reduction during the year, chiefly through the substantial reduction in manufacturing costs, which phase came directly under the supervision of [the manager. It was a matter for congratulation that he had been able in his [first year to accomplish this. 1 Considerable improvements had been .effected in the plant during the past season, and as a result there had been greatly increased efficiency at less cost. ■By the installation of a tiled whey tank jat Mangatoki and the shifting of the separators from the butter room to the. making room, the necessity of pumping [the whey through about 60 feet of piping [before skimming had been eliminated. Further improvements had been effected during the recess, notably the building qf tiled whey tanks at Matapu and Mahoe and the setting up of a new pasteuriser at Alangatoki.' This machine would do the work of the two pref-i--pusly in use. ! LOWER PRODUCTION COSTS. A factor of the season’s operations [that had been favourable to the company as exporter had been the premiums received for drawing on London, latterly 8i per cent., and amounting to nearly a farthing per lb butter-fat. There was another side to the story, in that the individual farmer had to pay an exchange rate of 6 5-8 per cent, on imported goods. This fact, together with [the increased taxation to be levied vii [the community, made the need * for .economy on the part of the farmer more insistent. Either by improved methods [Dr by the elimination of waste- goods fihould be produced at the lowest cost possible. At the next directors’ meeting the Chairman proposed to seek sanction for ft further payment on account of the iseason just closed by bringing the payment from December 1929 to June 1930 [up to Is 5d per lb. This would amount . ,to l.lSd over the season and would bring [the average payment to Is 5.36 d. . Further payments Would be made later as .the, produce was realised. Asked how much had been written off [the main factory during the past , five Tears, the chairman said about 7| per Cent, had been allowed each year-. The small lorry had cost as much in upkeep as. the big one, the chairman . stated, because new springs had been fitted.. The lorry was now doing the .work well. The payment for butter-fat in the preceding year amounted to Is 8.07 d. Mr. C. E. McGuinness asked if the question of the N.D.A. would be dismissed. The chairman the directors had agreed to join the new company and this would be at less than the company’s. present liability under the promissory note. Mr. McGuinness declared that he was absolutely against’ going into the new company. ' SHARES PREMIUM DISCUSSED. Mr. D, L. A. Astbury believed that as the company had arrived at such a good position it was J ime a premium [was put on shares. New shareholders were entering the company practically pn the same terms as 29 or 30 years ago. The chairman said he would be. only too pleased to take the shares in at ■their face value. Shareholders obtained 5 per cent, interest on their capital. Mr. Astbury said that year’s ago money, cou.ld be obtained at 5 per cent, whereas now it was 7 per cent. He considered their capital should be worth at least 6 per cent. The secretary read the articles of association which stated that the directors could from time to time determine the rate of interest to be paid. Mr. Astbury said he felt inclined to move that they pay 6 per cent. A voice: We cannot afford it. Air. Astbury: ' Nonsense. The ballot for directors resulted: E. Jj. Abbott 1304, A. C. Pease 1217, W. MeL’Dowie 816 (elected) and G. C. Willis 638. Thanks were accorded Mr. Willis for his services during the past year. The chairman’s honorarium and directors’ fees were made the same as in last year. .Messrs. Walkley and Cameron 'were re-appointed auditors at the same remuneration. . IMPROVED QUALITY SOUGHT. The chairman reviewed the efforts being made to improve the quality of cheese by Taranaki factories. He said that as the result of standardising they had made about Id per lb butter-fat. Air. Astbury asked what would happen if all factories made top grade. How would' the premium operate? In that case all would be as they were, said the chairman. Mr. Astbury asked if the larger number of second grade was due to the directors insisting on, as much water as possible being put into the cheese. Mr. Willis explained that the second grade was not due to excessive moisture. Air. Astbury considered that if standardisation were responsible for increas- . ing the amount of second grade it was time to put their house in order._ The manager, Mr. G. Wood, said the • biggest proportion of second grade was duo not to too much moisture but to instructions not being carried out. These men were not there to-day. It was possible to make good cheese under standardisation provided too much Bkimined milk was not put in. No one would feel more pleased to make good quality cheese than the managers, but other "factories were doing all they possibly could to obtain returns and if their company did not show a good payout it would lose supply. Air. T. Perry asked if the trouble was not due to high testing milk. Could not better cheese be made of low testing milk? Tho best milk was undoubtedly of a 8.8 test, said Mr. Wood, but that did : not mean they could not make good cheese from high testing milk. If they

were satisfied to put in only 10 to 15 per cent, of skim milk it would be all right. "SUBSIDY FOR LOW TEST.” Mr. Perry: It is a funny thing that the Government gives a subsidy for herd-testing and yet this is ndt the thing we want. A factory should give a subsidy for a lower test. (Laughter). I do not think the Shorthorn or Holstein cow should carry the Jersey. Air. Astbury asked if Alangatoki had made non-standardised cheese would the result be equal to that obtained by standardising. The chairman: No. Air. Astbury: Then that one penny we obtained by standardising answers Air. Perry's question. Air. Grace was of the opinion that the Dairy Division should take a firm grip in regard to grading as it appeared that a small quantity of low-grade cheese sent to England would set the standard in price for all. He thought it was not the use of ‘‘standardisation’’ that was the trouble but the abuse of it. The cheese sent back from Patea, the chairman said, had amounted to 11 crates of modified which they requested to be sent back. They heard a lot about the alleged deterioration of cheese quality, said Air. J. P. Alarx. This might have slipped a little, but too much publicity was being given to the matter to the detriment of their interests. Adverse reports were published all over the place and it seemed foolish for farmers to decry their own goods. No doubt there were many other commodities which had gone back in quality but the manufacturers did not publish it. A voice: How are you going to stop it? Air. Alarx:. There is no need to print it. The newspapers mean very well towards us but we do not want these points advertised. Air. AlcGuinness: Then you had better tell the consumers in Britain not to talk to their friends about the poor quality of the cheese. I do not blame the Press. If we send poor quality it is bound to come back on us. "AN EXTRAORDINARY THING.” Air. Astbury considered it extraordinary that they had been making cheese for 30 years and yet their quality was supposed to be not as good as formerly. He thought the explanation lay in a depressed market where buyers were, looking for weak points to criticise. The chairman: I think you have touched the point. . "If the market had been brisk we should have heard very little about poorquality,” concluded Air. Astbury. “‘Standardisation’ is. not a very fortunate choice of a name,” declared Mr. Marx. "It is too much of an Americanism. Had the product been called ‘standard’ cheese it would have sounded much better. The,word ‘standard’ implies being up to a standard quality, but ‘standardisation’ docs not. This is a matter • worth tiie attention of the Dairy Division.” Standardisation was not "fairly carried out, some factories skimming more than others, one supplier considered. Defending the quality of New Zealand cheese, Air. T. R. Anderson said that in no year had the company received a better report o n its quality than in this year.’ There was nothing to fear in regard to the quality o’f the product. The company could easily' give superfine, but it was doubtful if the public really wanted superfine. Last year standardisation was a new process to the checsemakers, who had to gain experience, but this year with their extra knowledge he thought things would turn out well. Tho chairman was sure next season’s quality would be equal to any in the past. THE KAPONGA BRANCH. The Kaponga branch factory had “run out” very well, there being only .Old per lb difference between it and Mahoe, said the-manager. The secretary stated that in manufacturing costs per lb there was not a great deal of difference between any of the company’s factories. Air. Astbury complimented the manager on effecting a big reduction in the fuel costs. The chairman referred to the reconstruction of the National Dairy Association. Alangatoki had been dealing with the concern for many years and had agreed to take shares equivalent in value to the promissory note. The company was prepared' to transfer its interests from a promissory note to shares.. Mr. AlcGuinness expressed opposition to taking shares on the ground that there was too much overlapping in the operations of these concerns. The National Dairy Association had arranged for a supply of crates at cheaper rates than those of Mangatoki’s own Box Company. It meant one farmers’ concern was helping to kill another. At a subsequent meeting of directors Air. R. H. Free was again elected chairman and Air. A. C. Pease deputy-chair-man.