DAIRY COMPANY'S YEAR

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 2, 27 August 1943, Page 5

DAIRY COMPANY'S YEAR

RANGITAIKI PLAINS PRODUC- . TION 4641 TONS OF BUTTER FOUR PER CENT. DIVIDEND FIXED The manufacture of 4641 tons i of butter, a profit of £2469 on the company's pig farm, a turn- ■ over of £75,154 in the Trading Department and a decision to pay a 4 per cent, dividend to shareholders — these were the highlights of a very satisfactory year outlined bys*the Chairman "of Directors (Mr W. A. MeCraeken) at the twenty-eighth annual meeting held at Edgecumbe last Wednesday which some sixty suppliers attended;. The) year was described as a remarkable one in view of the -jjreat difficulties which the company had experienced mainly in the staffing connection which Jiad grown into a major problem. Mr MeCraeken said that the company could congratulate itself of llic completion of a further successful year in spite of so many drawbacks. The- output compared we'll -with 3089 tons 0 cwt 3 cjrs 21 lbs for the previous season. The change hack from Milk to Cream supply was responsible for the butter factory manufacturing a tonnage in the vicinity of its normal annual output •of 5000 tons of Creamery Butter. Production showed barely 1 per cent, dccrcase on last season and approximately 9 per ccnt. decrease on the company's record year (5103 tons). Quality of Cream No less than 21,793,179.5 lbs oi scream were received and were grad'Cd as follows: Superfine 75.42 per cent, First Grade 24.52 per cent, and Second Grade .06 per cent. It -cannot be too strongly stressed that although improvements, in butter factory processing arc to-day producing a better quality butter, the -condition of the. finished product -can be further improved by a .substantial lift in. the grade of the -cream as received from the farm. A general lift in the quality of the ■cream would be reflected in the butter grade and consequently in the butterfat • payout, said Mr MeCracJien. Buildings and * Plant During the year £3259 14s 8d was spent on the purchase of butter factory plant. Main additions were a 100 box churn and a cream holding vat. The company had reason to be proud of its factory plant which., it "ivas fairly-safe to say, wsa second to none. The butter factory manager, engineer, electrician and assistants deserved high praise for the gen--eral lay-out, the pleasing quality of paint and varnish work and tlie all round reliability and efficiency of p! a nt a nd 1110 to rs. Of the Trading Department, Mr MeCraeken said the year's turnover was 4s lid. and a rebate o!' 5 per cent, amounting to £3380 3s Id was paid to purchasers. Had fertiliser sales been normal the turnover of the store would have been j.ust about a record. Suppliers were thanked for their wholehearted support during difficult days. Payout Season 1941/42 The estimated average payments •over all grades Averc —Cream suppliers 15.856 d, milk suppliers 18.049 d and Opouriao section 18.522(1. Thes' 1 proved to be the actual payouts. Cream suppliers have already received one deferred payment of Id -and a further 1.125 d will be paid out on the 20th August, 1943. Milk .suppliers will receive an additional 3.1 d. for the month of July, 1942 and suppliers transferred to Opouriao will receive G.75d for butterfat suoplied for checsc-ma'king and for cartage on the same. These payments are exclusive of the company's dividend and. rebate on purchases. Mentioning the allowance made by the Export Marketing Department, he said that the department kindly undertook to bring the cheese factory payout for the month of .July, 1942 up to 17.88 d per lb butterfat. With fixed overhead charges and other items operating most disand a very small supply of butterfat for July, the cheese manufacturing and marketing .account, showed rather an absurd position so far as costs are concerned. The directors are grateful to the department for agreeing to meet the position and the sum of £953 2s -fid has been anticipated. Directorate Under the provisions of the Articles of Association, Messrs W. R. J3oon and James Jamieson retired •this year, Messrs W. R, Boon and

James Jamieson being again nominated and there being no other nominations, these directors have been declared ilu'y re-elected for a further term of office. lit. is interesting to note that the e two gentlemen have now been returned to olfice for three successive terms without any other nominations being received. Mr Jamieson was elected to the Directorate in 1931 and has remained a director throughout the whole period. Mr Boon has been associated with the. company, as a director., since 1923 and has a longer record of service than any other member of the Board. High Grading Speaking of grading. Mr MeCraeken remarked that the t average grade was 93.172 and this was a record for the. company. Apart Iroin being the best recorded average, this high result had come at a time when many factories, operating under similar pasture and climatic conditions, had shown a lower figure than usual and a considerably poorer return than the one mentioned above. He added that during the year 92.5 per cent of the company's butter (4371 tons) received in the Auckland stores had been graded! finest. This performance placed it fourteenth on the list of 52 provincial factories and as far as quantity was concerned it was the second largest in the Dominion. Mr MeCraeken concluded by expressing thanks to members of the staff and Directorate for their willing and. successful co-operation during a most difficult year. Dividend The meeting unanimously adopted the recommendation that a dividend at the rate of 1 per cent., should be fixed, absorbing the sum of £2320 8s 7d on all capital paid up to June 30, 19-13. Mi* Miles Ilamill was re-appoint-ed auditor at the same remuneration as in the past. Officers Reports Comprehensive reports trom M» L. Thomson and from Mr l* • S. Hodgson, veterinary surgeon and bacteriologist respective,ly were read and adopted both officers receiving a hearty vote of thanks for their work during the year.