SOUTH ISLAND DAIRY ASSOCIATION HOLDS ANNUAL MEETING.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17863, 3 June 1926, Page 4

SOUTH ISLAND DAIRY ASSOCIATION HOLDS ANNUAL MEETING.

(Special to the “ Star.”) DUNEDIN, June 3. The seventeenth annual meeting of the South Island Dairy Association of N.ew Zealand was opened this morning. Air H. J. Middleton, chairman of directors, presided. Mr Middleton moved the adoption of the report. lie proposed shortly to run over certain clauses of the report. The association, he said, had started a machinery department in connection with the trading, that was a new thing, but the initial difficulties had been got over and members would soon know whether the enterprise had been of use to the industry. The main object of the new departure was not to make money but to benefit the industry, and the outcome had been to bring prices down 30 or 40 per rent it. would be admitted that the gain was worth while. Now that members knew there was such a department they would not have to wait for a man to call, but could send in their orders. They also had the assurance that the association would be able to do the work cheaper by cutting out unnecessary expenses. If the association were driven out of this business prices would certainly go back to what they were before, and members would have to pay the difference. For years they had been centreing their activities almost exclusively on marketing. They should reflect how a man on dear land with a herd of cows below average quality worked out his situation. Unknown to himself, that man was heading straight for the bankruptcy court. That man had to tackle the problem and breed and feed ruthlessly until he got better herds. \Ve are told that, even with a small rise of 101 b of butter fat a cow, over the whole Dominion works out at something about a million increase for our produce, said Mr Middleton. “ Ten pounds is a very trifling rise. I am satisfied that if every man engaged on the land would put his back and brains into this it would be quite possible in from seven to ten years to increa.se the average return by 1001 b of butter fat. My opinion is that there is room for a vastly greater betterment by bringing about the improvement. of the herds than you will ever get from any system of marketing. I am convinced of that.”