Co-Operative Dairying.

Gisborne Times, Volume VI, Issue 180, 7 August 1901, Page 3

Co-Operative Dairying.

(To the Editor of the Times.)

Sir,, —1 have read with interest the series of contributions on the above subject that have appeared in your valuable paper over i\lr Lysnar's signature, and the thanks of all farmers are due to him for the able manner in which he has put the matter before them. But are his figures reliable For instance. Will cows average tioOlbs of blitter fat in ten months My cows have not done so. and as milkers they arc above the average in quality and quautity. Then he speaks of sclli lg the butter locally at 10d per lb. That is out of the question, as one month's output from the two factories would swamp the Gisborne market for a year. However, my object in writing is not to criticise, but to ask you to publish an address by Mr J. R. Scott, appearing in the Weekly .Cress, of July 2-lth. You will notice he is reported as saying : “ The larger the quantity handled, the cheaper the working of the factory. For instance, •on tj.JOOlbs of butter fat per week, they could pay 9{d per lb, whereas for a supply of 12f>01bs of butter fat they could only pay at the rate of 7jd per lb." Now, sir, I think that meets our case exactly. I question whether cither of the local'* factories are receiving 12501 bs of butter fat weekly, and at present we are being paid Sd per lb for butter fat during the four winter mouths, and 7d for the other eight mouths ; and when you take into consideration the extra cost of running a factory here as against the South or West, it is fully equal to 7;d all the year round. Co-operative factories are bound to come, but in my opinion we are not ready yet. We need more cows first.—l am. etc., Siti’mek. I The report referred to will bo given in our next issue.]