ANNUAL REPORT

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 39, 21 July 1939, Page 7

ANNUAL REPORT

TAURANGA DAIRY YEAR AVERAGE PAY-OUT 15.68 d About 400 shareholders were present at the annual meeting of the Tauranga Co-operative Dairy Association Ltd 011 Monday. A feature of the voting for the election of directors was that only one of the ietir_ ing directors was re-elected, those defeated including the chairman Mr P. T. Kcam. The other two directors defeated were Messrs H. JClarke and K. Strugnell. Those elected were Messrs L. Tollemache, F. B. Hartstone S. G. Williams and C•1 Rowlandson The output was shown in the report as having amounted to 1856 tons, compared with 2056 tons the previous season, a decrease of approximately ten per cent. Butter gradings were: Finest 30.64 per cent, finest 69.29 per cent, second 0.07 par ccnt t as against 54 .29 per cent, 45.62 per cent and 0.09 per cent. The actual payout for the season was 14. 416 d per lb butterfat, this including a further payout of .473 d per lb on the 1937-38 season's supply. The advance payments were £197,352 8s 7(1, an average of 13,79 d per lb over all grades. TOTAL PAY-OUT. The report continued ul a t the appropriation account showing a ClfcvUbalance of £27,826 Is 6d would, after providing £645 as interest on share capital at the rate of five per cent, allow for a further payment of 1. 64d and a share bonus of ,25d per lb making the average payout over aU grades 15.68 d. The manufacturing and marketing account showed that the sum of £197,352 8s 7d was advanced to suppliers, the sales of butter and cream totalling £256 088 9s 7d, and the sales of buttermilk £598 17s lOd. During the year the number of suppliers decreased from 615 to 585. Mr Keam in his report deplored the fact that grading figures had gono down, despite the fact that everything possible was tried out to improve matters during the manufae. Turing process. Officers of the fields division were now making a complete soil and pasture survey. Costs had been kept down to a fairly low level, totalling 2.176 d per lb as compared with 2.052 d last year. WAGE INCREASES. At the present time the employees were asking for an all round increase and if this were granted it must be loaded on to the product, said Mr Keam. No one wished the factory hands to be in a worse position than the workers in other industries, but the guaranteed price was worked out on a certain and if they had to carry extra costs without a proportionate rise in price it would definitely put farmers in a worse posi. tion than they were to.day. Mr Keam added that there was little chance of any extra payment being made by the Government and it seemed probable that the deficit in the dairy account woujd be around £2,000,000.