GRADING OF DAIRY PRODUCE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1155, 16 June 1911, Page 8

GRADING OF DAIRY PRODUCE.

' AN AUSTRALIAN'S "DISCOVERT." Mr. W. M'Kcover, a dairyman from tlio north coast of New South Wales, visited Englnnd a while ago, and ivhilo in London dolrcd into butter matters. Sinco i returning to Australia he has written ar- ! ■ tides condemning tho action of the Coi> ! inonwealth in deciding to follow New Zea- ! land in the adoption of a system of compulsory grading. Ho contends that Government grading should, ho resisted, and t declares that it means the ruin of the industry. He states that at one particnI Jar time recently buyers were being allowed 10s. to 15s. a cwt. on certain New Zealand butter branded first grade because they objected to paying first-class price for third-quality butter. ■ Advice-) show that at about this time ; New Zealand first-grade butter was selling strong at 110s. per cwt. Australian j ■ butter on the same market ivas realising t from 100s,. to 101s. for good to prims stuff, while, according, to the report of tho I Coastal .Farmers' Co-operative Society's : representative, "sales of medium and ini fcrior butter were hard to effect, and ; prices ranged from 70s; up." L Commenting on Mr. M'Keever's "dis- : covery," the "Sydney Morning Herald" pays that "even on Mr. M'Keever's show- ; ing (and it is certain it is some isolated : case ■ capable of explanation), this third quality New Zealand butter, on which a , reduction had to be made, realised a price almost equal to our (Australian) | tops, and 255. to 30s. per cwt. moro than our, inferior butter. Our correspondent's convincing discovery, taken at its face value, even if it did show an error in ! grading, proves that compulsory grading has been so effective in New Zealand that ■ its 'third quality' butter realises very little less than our best. It is a nity if ! a. visit to London cannot tench Mr. ll'Keever the reason of that. . He might not ..then bo so sur» about' condemningt compulsory grading." • Another statement of Mr. M'Keever's was: "The agents here whom I have seen ; all protest against the Government branding, as useless and misleading." "Considering what we know of the pronounced view 3 of so many leading agents," says the "Herald," "this statement is not easily understood until we remember that. Mr. "-M'Keever also tells us 'the Coastal Farmers' Society placed their representative at my disnosal.'" This society is tho leader. of the anti-graders. It mar mentioned that the opinion of Mr. R. Ellison ft.ondon renresentntivo of the National Dairv Association of New ■Zealand) is that Australia "is doing the correct thing in following tho New Zealand grading,.system."-