AUTUMN BUTTER.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1064, 1 March 1911, Page 8

AUTUMN BUTTER.

OPINIONS ON HOLDING, AND ,'. . . SHIPPING,

One of the problems now ahead-of dairy factory directors is what-should-bo done with- the autumn butter. Some consideration had already, been given the subject, But tho advent of the heavy rains upset , , calculations, and the position now is that.for a couple of weeks 'yot nothing, definite is likely to be decided on. liy then a better, idea of. the effect of .the downpour will be arrived at, and th'qse' concerned will then be able to pro-ceed/with'-a more reliable basis than they hiivo af present. ■Estimates' of the effect of the ram vary. • Some of the Wellington business concerns have been advised that the fall camo too late, and that tho season will coino to a close very early on account of the. shortage of iced. On the other hand, some farmers say that while the lain will not have- the effect of increasing the -supply, it will stop the progress of the,decrease. And thus, while some of the merchants expect that the. autumn shipments will bo less than usual, others do not look for any decrease. , "We. have had two good autumns in euccesion," said ono wbjo studies the various phases of tho dairy produce export trade, "and wo need hardly expect that , to go on for ever. The change may come this season. If there is a shortage of autumn supplies, the price locally will be high, and factories will he desirous of holding'as much as possible, with the consequent decrease in the quantity shipped. Still, it is hard to say right away what the position is going to be. .After tljfi rain on Saturday you could almost , si« tho grass'growing."' '-' ■■'■

Another authority considers that tho fact of there being so much colqnial.butter in England will be an inducement to" factory directors to decide to hold autnmn supplies for the local markets ,nncl ho does not think factories can go wrong in refraining from exporting, as ho sees no indication of the* London price, becoming "'.my great catch" for a while yet. Local prices, lie reckons, arc certain to bo-more payable- than English. The increased number of cows being milked this season is held in one quarter to bo generally ovaiiobked in estimating .the autumn shipments. "There are many more cows in milk this year than there.-ever were before, anil this , has to he considered. Notwithstanding that, iS course,, tho product may be le?s, b\lt tho fact |is one gone thorough-, ly into if a bad estimate is to ho avoided. By. the way, tho drought would not have been so. hard on some of the farmers had they not been pretty heavily stocked." ' The figures for thn next shipment (by the Tougariro on March fl) have bsoii compiled as follows from advices sent in, rmt it is thought more than 'likely that the , actual export will lie less:—Trom Xew Plymouth. DOf)O boxes: from Paten. SOOO boxes; and' from Wollincton. 55Q0 boxes. Shinping, it is expected.' will bo diVoniinned by about, th.fi end of May. Tho. 3Fnsrertoii Dairy Company has' already "decided to'store its output from tho end of the present month. .