ELECTRIC POWER IN THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XXVII, Issue 4, 20 October 1923, Page 279

ELECTRIC POWER IN THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.

In his annual report for 1922-23 the Chief Electrical Engineer, Public Works Department (Mr. Lawrence Birks), states under the heading of “ Industrial Developments”:—

■ “ Electric milking plants, which will necessarily form a large proportion of the country load of the Electric-power Boards, have increased by over 100 per cent, during the year. There are now over 1,100 such plants in operation in the Dominion, as compared with 548 last year. The following indicates the distribution of these plants : Thames Valley Power Board, 384 ; Central Power Board, 247; Te Awamutu Power Board, 152 ; Cambridge Power Board, 100; Banks Peninsula Power Board, 67; Springs-Ellesmere Power Board, 28 Southland Power Board, 29 ; Tai Tapu Dairy Company, 36 Hawera Electric Supply Company, 50 ; other installations, 50 : total, 1,143. “ The total number of milking-machines in the Dominion, operated for the greater part by benzine-engines, is 12,468, and is increasing at a rate of over 2,000 per year. There is thus ample scope for the development of electric-power supply in this direction. . . “ In addition to the milking plants, the dairy factories are proving a useful load, particularly the large butter and dried-milk factories, of which six are now supplied from Horahora.”