The Taranaki Herald. DAILY EVENING. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 1915. THE NATIONAL DAIRY ASSOCIATION.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 144713, 23 June 1915, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. DAILY EVENING. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 1915. THE NATIONAL DAIRY ASSOCIATION.

In spite of some adverse conditions the president of the National Dairy Association was able to present a satisfactory and cheering report, of'the past season’s . operations. No less than twenty-eight new factories were registered during the year, all except two being .cheese factories and sixteen of these were in Otago and .Southland. In spite of this the season's output of cheese was 4.90 per cent, less than that of the preceding season. Curiously enough, the. output of butter showed an increase of Lilli per cent., chiefly duo to the expansion of the industry in the Auckland province, which, however, would have had a far greater output if the climatic conditions in the summer months had been hotter. Dry weather in October and November, and again later iu the summer, materially affected the yield in most of the dairying districts. Fortunately exceedingly high prices, especially for cheese, fully made up for the deficiency in quantity, and for these the industry has to thank the war, since it caused a decrease in the supplies of butter from several countries upon which the United Kingdon is dependent, notably Siberia and Sweden, while the Imperial authorities have bought immense quantities of cheese for army use, ■averaging, it is said, from 600 to TOO tons weekly. On the other hand the war brought about some irregularity and delay in the shipment of dairy produce. Yet when one examines the analysis of London shipments it is seen that matters might have been much worse in this respect, for in October last two very large shipments wore got away, in November four steamers were dispatched, all well laden, in December five, all except one carrying large cargoes of daily produce, in January five, in February eight, ami in March three. Since then the butter available for export lias not presented much difficulty, but a considerable quantity of cheese Ims been held up. Considering, -however, that the price obtainable is still phenomenally high,.and likely to remain so, the producers can well afford to wait a few weeks for their money, and Mr. Morton was aide to assure the meeting at Palmerston yesterday that the stocks will be cleared by the middle of August and that the cool stores will have empty boards to accommodate the new season’s make when it begins to come in. He suggested, however, that as a safeguard against any possible shipping difficulties next season factories should endeavour 'to provide more storage space.- This would bo a wise precaution; though it does not seem probable unit the shipping facilities will be any worse than in tile past season. A greater immediate difficulty is likely to be experienced iu the matter of labour, both on the farms for milking and in-the factories, and it may bo advisable to

approach tlie Defence authorities with a view to (liscourapring the enlistment of men who will ho urgently required hero to carry on an industry which is so intimately connected with the feeding of the Allied armies. The manufacture of rennet in the Dominion isanother matter which is worthy of close attention. Complaints of the quality of New Zealand butter and cheese generally come when the articles arc difficult of sale, and it is not surprising therefore to find that the reports for the past season were generally favourable. So long as the farmers and the factories continue to maintain a uniformly high quality flier have nothing to fear about the markets, which promise to be good for the coming season, though it would scarcely be reasonable to expect quite so high a level of prices as have been secured during the season just ended.