‘INDUSTRY CANNOT AGREE’

Taranaki Daily News, 23 December 1930, Page 11

‘INDUSTRY CANNOT AGREE’

FAULTS IN CHEESE -QUALITY

SCIENTISTS’ ADVICE DISCARDED.

SECTIONAL INTERESTS OPPOSED.

Holding that the advice of scientists had been outweighed by considerations, such as breed society interests, labour awards, the race for yield and interfactory competition, Mr. .P. O. Veale, in his report to the Federation of Taranaki Dairy Companies yesterday,, drew attention to - the persisting faults in New Zealand cheese. In his previous report on the subject he had. advocated the taking of immediate action to raise the quality, but the winter had passed with practically no changes made. Tlie reason in his Opinion was lack of unanimity ’ in the industry so ; that nothing could be done on a national scale.

; In : May last he had received instructions from the-federation executive to make a, report on ; the quality of NeW Zealand cheese and the adverse quality reports, continued Mr. Veale. His re-, port when presented had been deemed by the exeeutiveto be of'shell importUgce that it had been released ror publication. It-had attracted considerable' attention and in some quarters strong opposition. ■ Nevertheless it had open endorsed by a representative meeting of Taranaki factory managers, also bya‘ general meeting of factory directors and company, delegates. , SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT. l-At the Hamilton conference of the National' Dairy Association : the question of cheese quality had received very thorough consideration, and the j twd niost important suggestions / for improvement offered in his report had received, ample support—the adyisabj’.ky of 1 introducing a premium on cheese quality and of raising the bactjeriologi-! cal. standard of milk iby a universal system of grading. ; Six months had passed since the, first storm following the publication of the report' on “Openness in New /Zealand cheddar cheese.” Nothing had been brought forward to disprove any of his contentions regarding the faults in the cheese or the causes’of those faults. On the contrary, ample evidence had continued to come to ha,nd supporting, the various sections of the report and justifying the strictures he passed upon the misguided and erring conditions within the cheese industry. "Actually,” . Mr. Veale stated, “one migljt now think that my remarks upon the grading of New Zealand cheese, its immaturity when■ ■■ marketed, ite high moisture content under the standardising system, its lack of proper cheddaring and pressings and the . loss .of market price and goodwill which it was steadily achieving had, been made wkh the aid of the knowledge recently collected in England by Mr. W. A. lorns, chairman of. the Control Board, were it not for the fact that my report was issued in May and Mr. lorns’ in September. PAROCHIAL, DISPUTES. “It is regrettable,” he proceeded, “that i sectional interests and parochial disputes within, the cheese industry liava prevented the reaching of any unanimity of opinion regarding what ought to be done to remedy the state of affairs revealed. The federation has certainly taken a leading part in waking up New Zealand cheese producers to a sense, of thyir true position, but it coin do no more than that. It .is not vested with disciplinary powers, and cannot compel' the smallest, section-j?f. the industi-y io carry out its' suggestions. ;'“I;--;;wiy!pid; ; .x«qQnrin’e.nd' this aspect of the-question to those persons who express regret that the federation has done nothing to solve the farmer’s prob-, iems, I'Tiave heard it said''that" science has done nothing for the 'cheese industry because, our cheese is ..worse to-day than it was' 25 years ago, I would reply, I certainly in some -respects our. cheese is worse to-day than it'wfls 25 year? ago, and did I not incur .strong disfavour' in certain quarters last May when I made bold to come out in the open and say so? In the last 20 years conditions within the cheese, -'industry have been slowly changing, and within 1 the last ■ five..; -years - rapidly - cluinging.Sclence of itself is powerldss to arrest those 4 changes.” . \ ' . His-appQititinerit at Hawera had been madpiin order that he might investigate pnd inform the industry of features w;hich were-known to 1 be -pnSatisfactory, continued Veale.. This he capld conseiehtjousiv claim to have done, even if he, had; only; touched the’ fqnge 'of < the subject. 1 ,-: His recent report bpd;shown the now generally accepted'fact - that New * Zealand ch pose, did not.command the.r,epptet of .the.■'market.tijg,t it once did. ■ . ■ / .. .“I have inveetigated .the; causes which .cqntribute .to'some pf the faults of: our clieese,” he'said. “I> have reported tha rpsults- and l’ h'a.ve-appealed to the industry -to adopt tjiem.. Ifast;: May ,1 -wrote ‘lt- is te be; '. hoped that the, New Zealand ■ industry; will 1 - fuljy/appreciate, tife necessity for urgent action and that the present winter will not be allowed to' pass- without laying,' the 1 .foundation- for better things ' ddtingnextseason.. Experience in -the. . papti'hashowin : tha^, ; refprmq cannot be secured by, any,, other agency than by the /united?voice bfV the industry) Producers therefore, must themselves ; take steps to imprbve their produce, lest they suffer- fbr another,;l2 months, arid fib 'on for ever the /increasing ■ losses re- - pulting, from: 1 the ruinous; lines ' along which the,’cheese industry has been allowed to.drift.’ , • “INDUSTRY CANN6T AGREE.”

“The winter , has passed and we are well on into tjie . next twelve njonths, but, . except’ for ' a - general ’ recognition that,-tliere .has •been some back-sliding, and that cheese quality should be improved nothing has been dope on the national • spate, proceeded the . speaker. “And' for what , reason? Because the cheese, industry cannot agree amongst iteelf. A change cannot be made without «ome personal .sacrifice, but when the' acid test is Applied practically no one can be found willing, to submit to a.n immediate sacrifice, however small, in order that the cheese industry may be'set-upon right Jines.” ' He’ personally had ho power to introduce regulations or to compel the adoption of his-suggestions for improvement. He was doing the job for which he was engaged—to investigate, to report, and to put forward ways and means of overcoming or nimimising the faults,’ He was too frequently •in .the position ,of a doctor whose patient, although ill,’refused his medicine because it. tasted nasty, who declined to- submit to an operation because it would hurt and' would take a little time to get over,, arid" who carried on with the old diet and the old mode of life because .it suited him-best. As long as thia attitude persisted the mere investigation could do nothing towards remedying the fault.

He had heard in a few quarters a worse suggestion than that science : had done nothing to assist the. industry—that all the troubles had accumulated in the last five years when science had been operating and that he personally was'responsible. The ridiculous nature

. , , • / ’.y of the suggestion, was evident. 1 from 4: consideration of his previous 'remark that he had never been given any power to shape or mould the course of the dairy industry, in any way. He hat, investigated arid reported, but ings and, recpinmendatirinis of scietjoji; liad. been-far• outweighed by and di**/ carded in; {favour of, other and mom ? pressing considerations such, as breed society interests, labour costs,. intw factory competition, the race for yield, factory awards, overtime rates, etc. “Actually the chickens of the last years ha ve been • flocking • home to ro‘o*| in the last five* years, not because oi science, but. because- science never- hai. anything to do with letting the and has no power unless backed up fcj? the industry to do anything that will ' keep them off,” added Mr, Veal£ MJ am convinced that time win vindicati; my. recent suggestions for the improve/ irient of the New Zealand cheese indutil try, but I would rather see my suggea tions adopted titan my predictions : ■ filled.” ” 'tW