TEMUKA DAIRY COMPANY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2094, 4 September 1890, Page 1

TEMUKA DAIRY COMPANY.

On .Sawer, Government Dairy Inspector, met a number of the ehareholderßof the Terouka Batter and Cheese Factory at the Wallingford Hotel for the purpose of discussing with them the position of the industry at Temuka, Mr Job Brown, Chairman of Directors, presided, and there was a fair attendance. The chairman briefly introduced Mr Sawer, who, be said, bad visited the factory in the coarse of the afternoon and made himself, acquainted with the method of working there. Mr Sayyer experienced. the pleasure he bad felt at receiving an invitation to meet them that evening for the purpose of dealing with the dairying industry, which was now : a'-curfcnt topic. He bad intended to address them upon the production of milk,for dairy purposes, but he understood that there was . another address , being delivered (hat evening, and he would, therefore defer his full lecture until a near future occasion, lie would content himself with a few remarks upon the factory system, upon which must be placed exclusive reliance for successful dairying. Iho system was originated in 1851 by Jesse Williams, a i Jew, who, farmed a gmall block of land

near NeW York. Hb ! started’ With 14 cows, but in 4y ears' had increased bis Stock to 40. XB5l hS; wld ;bis cheese for 17 cents per lb 1 , an increase of 5 cents over the ordinary price- HiS spnl ’ who lived in the Vicinity whS invitfeJ tri sell to the sairie percbabt, out was riot in a riosition to riaake as ' good an article and could not,; tberbforb 1 so good ■' a 1 - pries, Wilifcinff. ■ I hetyfore suggested that theimilk should be Senl to his premises land rinder his supervision. This was,the ppgin of the factory system; arid it had proved successful. Time was money,, fno the cost of manufactnrifag the milk, of 60 dairies into cheese if worked under_ihe factory system tvonld show ®jc? r y saying in labor in comparison, with the individual .System. : Superiority ; and uriformity were the winning cards in competition, and .could only be obtained under the factory System, The man in charge of; a factory would be a naan of large, experience,,which could not be eaid of all the farmers who might, be tempted to go into the manufacture of cheese.,, Mr Stwer then enlarged upon the advantages of co-operation and thS necessity for keeping pace with the times; It was now only 8 years ment. had offered a bonus of ■ £SOO , for the first 50 tons of cheese manufacture; Two factories, only competed,/ being awarded to Edendale.i There were now.abont 60 factories engaged id the industry, and he was assured it was a profitable one or people would not engage in 'it, -Mt Sawer theri drew attention to a scheme inaugurated by him daring the currency of the New Zealand and. South Seas Exhibition for the federation of the dairy factories] the object being do attain, a standard of uniformity and excellence and byj guaranteeing the sbiptnent of a certain quantity to the Home market every year to induce the shipping companies toj reduce their freights io. Much yethadj to be done, but he pointed out that per-j fection in any, business enrichep those engaged in it, and only byjprodttcing the very best article could they boprito meetj with success.

The chairman then made a few re-| marks, in the coarse of which'he pointed! out that as there was to be a meeting of shareholders on Friday next he had deemed it lidvi&able to call' the present! meeting in the hope that farmers would interest themselves in the matter and be prepared to say whether it was advisable; to still carry on the factory, Mr Sawer,| he was sure, would be glad to answer, any questions that might be pat. j Replying to shareholders Mr ( Sawer, said that at the price paid for the milkj he was at a .loss T to ; how the | industry did not pay. At WairetaSdj per gallon was paid, and at Fleming-1 too. This left a fair margin. Certainly j at Temuka they bad expended An i enormous earn .in buildings, quite pot of| proportion to their requirements. The 1 cost of one factory recently erected was i only £BOO. This, however, was in aj timber district. 'He was of opinion that co-operatio ! nwas the best system, although he was personally interested in in two dairies. Constant effort and unanimity must be brought to bear on the subject With regard to the present management, be conld see nothing to complain of. Competition, was prejudicial to the price and the cost of shipping, Jkc., practically swamped the profits. The scheme for federating dairies if brought into operation would effect a saving in 'carriage charges and so forth, probably a halfpenny in the lb. The cheese should be manufactured and put into cases for, say, |d per lb, No cheese if less than 601 b or 70 b should be shipped. Theoheddar system should also be The only cost would be the price l of a curd mill, £4, and larger hodps for cheeses, say, £lO. The system they worked under at present impaired tbeidigestibility of the cheese. Under the Cheddar system no extra labor would be required. The plant was a good one, but having to pay interest upon £3040 was enough to cripple any industry of the kind. If the cheese fetched 52s at Home it should leave about 4d and l-16th per lb here, and 5 this should leave a margin of profit over the cost of production. He had received as high as 565, and once for a small lot 60s, hot 52s was an average price. He considered a suggestion that milk should be partly paid for on delivery, and any profit divided afterwards as-being a good one. No person was so interested in the industry as the milk supplier, but ! perfect co-operation was necessary.

Replying to Dr Hayes ;-There were eleven factories in Southland and Otago which had joined the federation. Its principal objects would be to guarantee regular shipments, to see. them put properly on board at the several ports, to obtain materials at a low cost, and establish a uniformity of quality. Ho fully explained the difference between the cbeddar and acid systems. The latter made the cheese too dry, and although it might suit the. Australian market it would never do to ship Home, About lib of cheese from of milk was a fair percentage. Mr Asliwell said that at the factory (heir re|urn| had been 17£ozjf from 111 b,

16£ozs from 11 lb, and Utterly from 1118 of milk. This Mr Sawer considered a fair percentage, - Cheese could riot, ,be pro; perly for [shipment under two months. If shipped prior to thlafe the action of thn cool chamber, which would stand at about 59 degrees,* would be deleterious; 0 ffitflured cheese would keep for A long period at a temperature ot 56 degrees. In the factory, the cheese should bo ripened at a temperature of about 65 degrees, ; Reply to .Mr Bowman: If the temperature- rose to 85 degrees they would simply have to- make the best of a bad job, Replying to M,g Barker and others ; The Fedetated Dairy Factories wonjd be able to shiDipt a cheaper rate, getting a rebate on freight as direct shippers; •nd could also insure for less percentage. The oases they at present used were good enough for Australia, but be re : comtriended having them made twelvesided instead of octagon, and of white pine dressed upon the one side. These could be supplied by the association direct from the timber mills. Jtjwas advisable to adopt a uniform shape, so as to make a' speciality for the London market, Once the cheese was favorably known it wonld be readily sold to arrive, and much expense in handling, Ac., saved. He approved of the system of regular, inspection, but stated that the district was almost 100-large for him to be present at operations frequently. He expected to visit their factory about the' .first week in October, and suggested that a letter to the Minister of Lands would facilitate matters. Some minor questions wefo, answered and the meqting terminated with a vote of thanks to Mr Sawer for bis attendance. The directors subsequently met and discussed; privately with,Mr Sawer matters of interest to the shareholders. ,