HELPING THE DAIRY INDUSTRY

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 19958, 16 November 1934, Page 13

HELPING THE DAIRY INDUSTRY

To the Editor of ** The Timaru Herald " Sir,—After having perused the report of the Dairy Commission. I would like to pass some comment thereon, and, anon, advise the Government how to help the dairy farmer a little. Like most commissioners, they have heard a lot but seen very little, and as seeing is believing, sir, I’ll wager my mortgage against the next man’s, that the ultimate results will be nil—to the producer (incidentally the one who carries the rest of the trade on his shoulders). The report consists, in the main, of the old debated questions of the trade only in more elaborate and detailed form. We realise, sir, that the quality of our produce is of paramount importance, and have endeavoured year by year to improve on the last, until to-day the general quality of our butter could hardly be excelled. I would here like to emphatically point out to the powers that rule, that the reason of low prices is not the quality of our

butter, but the quantity—here and elsewhere being dumped on an over-loaded market, coupled with “ye bad ole man depression.” Therefore, it seems highly ridiculous business to have an army of graders whose occupation seems to be visiting butter factories and degrading our cream. For example, recently at one factory, out of 140 suppliers, only 17 cans of cream were graded finest, 84 first and 43 second, ignorant persecution which will, if continued, successfully strangle the dairying industry. Are there other outlets than Britain? We have heard this for the last five years, and will hear it for the next 50, but nothing will eventuate. Our high standard of living, with consequent high cost of production—the low standard of wages and simple living in most densely populated countries, viz. China, India and Asia—our comparative isolation from the consuming world to the advantage of our competitors, put enlarging our markets entirely out of the question. Now we come to the oft-debated topic “cream lorries overlapping.” Competition, sir, is the life of trade, so let them leave well alone. We know that it is impossible for the respective cream lorries to traverse the districts under any other economic scheme, furthermore, the suppliers would not receive j one iota more if something else were ! substituted. With regard to the subsij dies, I should say this is the easy, yet : very hard way to get money. We could | all do with a subsidy, but it is, at the 1 best, only a temporary measure, signij fying usually the “last” kick of a dying ! industry. Besides one cannot rob Peter | to pay Paul, when Peter is as poor as ! Paul. No. we must reluctantly realise | the fact that butter is going to fluctuate between 60/- and 80/- per cwt. for many years, so we must compute our working expenses, cost of stock, and value of land on this basis for the future. As stated above, I will now tell the Government how they can help the butterfat producer a little, insofar as world conditions will permit. The advice will cost them nothing—not thousands of pounds, and the result would be lasting, if recommendations were inaugurated. They must pass legislation to (1) eliminate the “scrub” bull, the smirch of most South Island dairies, but at the same time, establish stud farms from which farmers could hire or purchase the best at a low figure; (2) make herd-testing, like primary education, compulsory, but free. I also recommend (1) the collection of cream at most every two days to ensure the manufacture of finest grade butter; (2) more concentration on the marketing of our produce, the quantitive monthly shipments, the distribution and selling (especially the retail) at the other end —there is room for much improvement there. By the way, leave the domestic market alone—here again competition is the life of trade —the consumer reaps the benefit, and no one seems to lose so why worry? (3) make available cheap money to cost at most 21 per cent, to dairy farmers, who require it. Lastly, and the most important—the whole crux of the farming community, land values must be made more flexible. I mean that they should be worked on some kind of a sliding scale in abnormal times, and also land mortgages. The old rule of average prices over a period of ten years is a washout, and something more equitable must be evolved in the near future. It seems the height of folly to see good farmers vacating their farms, simply because those farms are over-valued, and they find it impossible to meet the interest on a mortgage, which, getting down to the actual

truth of the matter, was never actually paid in cash by anyone. Land was placed here for us to live on and live by—not to be used as an ordinary chattel, thus making some men rich and others paupers. But this is a very intricate and colossal problem, sir, and would require much brain power to bring it to a successful working issue, consequently I do not suppose it will ever be done.—l am, etc., HAZELBURN.