YIELD OF THE COW

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 167, 13 October 1941, Page 5

YIELD OF THE COW

BUTTER FOR LOCAL TABLES

WHAT WHAKATANE SPREADS ON

ITS DAILY BREAD

(By Unome)

Perhaps known to many, but certainly unknown to many more, the Whakatane County, through the Rangitaiki Plains Dairy Company, produces 5000 tons of butter per annum, but the 10,700 inhabitants of the Whakatane Borough and County consume only about 150 tons of that butter.

All butter in local retail shops is the Rangitaiki Plains brand and bears the "superfine" mark and, thus, not only do the residents of this town receive the best that their farming neighbours can produce, but also do the farmers have sent to them in their cream cans the just return for their labours (at least as far as butter is concerned) and that is a superfine product made from their own extraction from the cow which gives the golden yield.

Thus residents of the Borough who on a week-end afternoon enjoy (if petrol permits) a quiet drive through the rural areas, when seeing a cow (with or without a kind face) should return its placid glance with thankfulness in recognition of the tasty product for which it is responsible.

Who, when toying with a small portion of toast in the morning, realises the effort that has been made so that that cherished portion of butter may be added. In fact be there a man who would eat his toast without that necessary addition. As one dives his knife at the butter dish (butter knife if wifey is lurking about) is it possible that he, in a panorama of realisation, sees gumbooted men sleepily wending their way to the cow sheds . . cows placidly submitting to the solicitations of modern machinery . . .

trucks dashing to and fro . . . scores of men scurring about a factory . . . waggons delivering the product to the retailer. No! not at all. He merely reflects that it about time the household expenses were reduced ancl continues to over indulge in that rather expensive house hold item—butter.

Which all goes to show (I hope) that we should be more thankful for that which we receive . . . through the Rangitaiki factory.

Now that brings to mind that in this town are- cheese eaters—few perhaps—but nevertheless some other that those at the bar (not meaning barristers) fondly toy with a portion of chedar. This in turn reminds that the Pupuaruhe (which in English means 'near the Paper Mills') factory is now making cheese, and that perhaps their product will soon be retailed by local stores. Of course one can never tell because stores are funny like that. Most in these days of fast travel, social security and big interests, are like the freezing works—belong to the chain gang (pardon! I mean of the chain variety) and buy their cheese by contract.

Perhaps with its headquarters at Auckland a firm buys from one factory and its branch at Whakatane sells cheese made- at Waikikamukau or something, while the incomparable Waimana product is sold to Bulls, or rather at Bulls or the Bluff. (It all helps the Transport Alliance I suppose). Fortunately in Whakatane the "support local industry" principle 1 is so prevalent that atleast Waimana's cheese can be bought and many other brands too. They have good salesmen at Waimana and put their product before the public at all functions including the openings of river diversions.

Still, we can live in hopes: that the Pupua . . . Paper Mills cheese is all it should be after such a great deal of effort, worry and BEACON publicity and that it will soon not only disappear in scows ovei the river bar for export but will appear in crackers over the other bars of the toAvn for good sports. Oh! cheese it!