CO-OPERATIVE DAIRYING.

Gisborne Times, Volume VI, Issue 167, 26 July 1901, Page 3

CO-OPERATIVE DAIRYING.

AND ITS ATTEND ANT ADVANTAGES

[By W. Douglas LvsXAR.j

Having been requested in the interest of the dairy farmers of this district to write to the press regarding the above industry, giving any facts I can bearing on the subject, and in deciding to do so, I more readily accede to the request for the reason that some 18 months back I went thoroughly into the dairying question, and with the object of gaining full information upon the subject, I went specially through tho Taranaki district to inquire into the industry for my own personal information, as I was considering at the time the advisability of establishing a private factory of my own on one of my country properties, where I had a number of breeding cows running, with a view of utilising them for dairying as well as breeding purposes ; and while in Taranaki I took full notes of

the opinions of some of the best farmers and business men over there who were interested in the industry. These notes I still have, and in writing upon this subject I will depend upon them very largely, assisted by what additional information I havo collected locally. I may say that the result of my enquiries thoroughly satisfied me at the time that providing I could depend upon labor to milk.it would have paid me well to have established a private factory which would have required an expenditure of about £6OO to properly equip, a small factory that would have done from 100 to 150 cows. But I realised that there was a

great danger of not being able to depend upon getting labor to do the milking, and for this reason alone I did not venture into the industry, although I abandoned the matter with a considerable amount of doubt. Through having made these en-

quiries I feel better able to write more definitely upon the matter, and willingly give all information I have been able to collect, as it may be of assistance to others interested in the industry. It is to bo regretted in tho interest of tho dairy

farmers themselves and of the district as a whole, that there is not some more united and beneficial movement throughout thi3 district to enable dairy farming to make better progress than is being

made up to the present. Figures for several years back have shown that there is more to bo got out of dairy farming in

the Taranaki district than there is to be got out of goldmining in some of the wealthy gold districts of this colony. If this is so regarding tho Taranaki district why should wo not be able to achieve the same result hero ? We have better and more natural advantages than tho Taranaki district, if we only availed ourselves of Nature’s advantages which have been granted to us. Take our Poverty Bay climato: it is much milder in overy respect than tho Taranaki climate ; and, consequently, it

is more beneficial for both man and boast. We do not experience tho keen, cold, cuttingjwinds'and weather that are experienced in Taranaki. To get a belt of trees to grow there on the farms, you, as a rule, will find that a gorse hedge is first planted that is supposed to grow under almost any conditions ; then a few feet beyond that probably a quick hedge is planted ; then behind that will be a row or two of fir trees. There, throe or four rows will, as a rule, form tho usual farm protection for a house and general plantation, and oven with all this protection you will notice the effect of the keen weather on the hedges and plantation by tho winds killing tho portions exposed to tho weather. If tho weather has this effect on trees, it must have a bad effect on grasses, crops, and stock also. You will not see willow trees growing in tho open in Taranaki as you lo here. They must bo protected from the weather or planted in a hollow, or they will not live. Then take the pumpkin crop, thoy will not grow in the opon there as they do here. When I was travelling through that district a farmer there would not beliovo mo when I told him how we grow pumpkins in the opon field here, and when I assured him it was so and that he was not being joked \yith, ho said well, what could wo not do with our dairying here if tho dairy farmers could grow pumpkins to food their cows and pigs with. Then take tho grasses, to keep clover and ryegrasses in their pasture over thoro the farmers havo to plough and sow every fo,v yoars, otherwise tho pasture runs rapidly to rank cocksfoot. Cocksfoot no doubt is a good grass, but a cow to give a profi table yield requires a mixture and something more tasty. She would get this in our rich grassos and clovers that grow to perfection with us here. I was told by a

sheop-farmer in a large way in the Wanganui district that if he had our pastures and climate over there ho could average about lib per head more wool on his sheep, and as this remark applied to sheep so it would apply to dairying, and the profit to bo derived from each cow would bo greater here than in Taranaki. At the same time while we have better natural advantages over Taranaki for dairying, yet our dairying industry here is handicapped in othor important respects which retard its true progress, and makes an industry which should be profitable and lucrative a drudgery and a mere existence, or, to put it another way, it is the difference between living and existing. If this is so, is it not our duty to onquiro and learn the cause of this, and if it lies in our power to remedy tho cause, so that wo as a district, as woll as tho dairyfarmers individually, may make more progress ? In my judgment the causes that are stopping better progress of so important an industry in this district aro the three following : (1) Necessity of co-oporation among the dairy farmers themselves. (2) Necessity of understanding howto utilise and make tho most out of tho byeproducts. (3) Necessity of bettor selection of tho dairy farms or their grazing country. I w-ill endeavour, as shortly as possible, to deal with these three heads in their order, and to give reasons and figures for these contentions, and in urging the cooperative principle among the farmers, I would like tho proprietors of both the local faotories to accept my assurance that- it is not out of any disrespect to them or their factories which prompts me to urge the co-operative principle; but, on the contrary, I think that if the industry is properly worked and pushed ahead there is ample room for a few proprietary faotories as well as many co-operative ones. We have good country and the very best of climate. These two essentials, combined with a limited amount of capital and labour w'orked to the best advantage, should make‘this ‘district second to none as a dairying district in the whole colony.

(To bo continued.)