THE DAIRY COMPANY.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 11678, 11 February 1902, Page 3

THE DAIRY COMPANY.

To the Editor of the " Timaru Herald." Sir,—ln your i3sue of Saturday appears a letter signed A. C. Thompson, which is bo misleading to milk suppliers, that I deem it necessary to contradict some of the statements made therein. Mr Thompson says : " The company will pay during this month 9d per lb for butter-fat, and this price- with 25 per cent, extra butter-fat, which we get by separating, makes the price which the tamer will get for his butter Is per lb as against 6d per lb by the jkui system." This is an absurd statement. separator gives 25 per cent, more than the old method. The De Laval, which is the best in the world, only claims to extract one-sixth more butter-fat than the pan system. Also, when we come to consider that 9d per lb for butter-fat is only 8d per lb for commercial butter, as ICOlbs butter-fat will make 1121bs butter, you will at once see that by adding one-sixth mere butter extracted from the milk by separating to the price paid for butter-fat- and comparing it - with Mr Thompson's statement, there is a considerable difference. Mr Thompson states that suppliers will get Is per lb for butter, whereas the actual price the supplier will get is 9d per lb, and the additional value of Id for skimmed millc returned, making a total of lOd per lb. This is a difference of 2d per lb from Mr Thompson's' statement, but he will find it is correct. IVIr Thompson, makes another misleading statement in urging farmers to supply the factory with a winter supply of milk. * He states that, "At 5d to 6d per gallon suppliers should get £2O per month from 10 good cows." Let us see how this works out from practical • experience. Agreeing that the company give 5d per gallon for milk and the milk is r.icli enough to take 25Ibs milk for lib o£ butter-fat at Is Ifd, which leaves Is per' lb nett. for butter, it simply means that to realise Mr Thompson's estimate of £2O per month Trom 10 cows, each cow would have to yield lOlbs of butter per week during the winter months. How many herds of cows does Mr Thompson know that will give this yield during the winter months, however well looked after ? All practical farmers know that Mr Thompson's statement is over-estimated, and even where the cattle are well fed, their owners would be satisfied with an average return of one-third less than lie states. It is statementslsuch as these that do a co-operative company harm, and nothing is more injurious than statements made which are not borne out by practical experience. The Dairy Company has a good future before it if wisely managed. Farmers, are watching its progress keenly, and it has the sympathy and support of a large number, but when Mr Thompson makes such statements as appeared in your issue of Saturday, and which farmers know cannot be realised, instead of obtaining their support he only ' does injury to the company wbese cause he advocates. 7 I am, etc., SHAREHOLDER.