Thames Star WEDNESDAY, SEPT, 7, 1932. DAIRY BOARD’S ACTIVITIES.

Thames Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 18599, 7 September 1932, Page 2

Thames Star

WEDNESDAY, SEPT, 7, 1932. DAIRY BOARD’S ACTIVITIES.

“With malice towards none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right.”—Lincoln;

The annual report of the' Dairy Produce Board shows an expenditure of £53,000 and a . revenue of £41,000, the dilference apparently being paid from reserve funds. Management costs £SBOO in New Zealand and £6500 in London, and other expenses £13,547. In addition, £3803 was spent in research, £5855 given as subsidy to herd-testing, and £17,555 on ..advertising in Bri- , tain. The costs of management and other expenses appear to be high but, without fuller details as ; to how the money goes, it is im- ' possible to criticise them. Advertising New Zealand produce in Brj.-, tain lias, been very effective, but much assistance has hitherto been given by the Empire Marketing Board, which in future may find' it necessary to cut down its expendi-, ture. The Board is not hopeful about extending the export of dairy produce to the East, owing to the advantages held -by Australia from its proximity and shipping services. Australians our ; -most dangerous comjpetitor in the British markdt, far more so than Denmark, and with the advantage of exchange and the Paterson bonus can easily undersell us in the East. Our hopes seem rather to rest in leaving her to-sell as much as possible outside Britain so as to reduce her 'competition there. The report draws attention to the very great increase in the consumption of butter in Britain owing to the fall in prices. The consumption per head increased from 14.761 b in 1924 to 20.661 b in 1931. This is an increase of 40 per cent. If the year 1925 is taken for comparison, as the imports in’ 1924 were not quite normal, the increase is 45 per cent. This is purely the result of the low price of butter. Incidentally, margarine suffered a drop of from 12.351 b per J head to 9.251 b. Our dairy farmers must remember that margarine is always waiting round the corner to replace butter. The best margarine is hardly to be distinguished from butter, and, a big band of skilled research chemists, are kept constantly at work improving it. The.les-I son is that, we must look not so I much to, higher prices as to . in- ] creased production per acre and high quality, for the prosperity' of our dairy industry. . , ; ,