FUTURE OF DAIRYING

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 31, 30 October 1937, Page 3

FUTURE OF DAIRYING

Our Own Correspondent.)

Uncertainty Expiessed in Otago COMING SEASONS PROSPECT

(From

DUNEDIN, Oct. 27. Speaking at the annual meeting of shareholders and suppliers of tke Cooperative Dairy Company of Otago, tke Hon. F. Waite, M.L.C., ref erred to tke unsettled conditions of the past year, and expressed some uncertainty regarding tke future outlook. Tke dairy industry kad experienced a disturbing and unusual year, Mr Waite said. Legislation and higker 'costs kad disburbed suppliers on tke farm and tke working of factories. He wisked to draw attention to tke new form of accounts. Uniformity of detail was now mandatory, and it skould be possible for tke industry to gain quite a lot of valuable information about itself. Referring to attempts at rationalising the butter industry, Mr Waite said tkat tke directors of tke company were [agreed tkat, witk one co-operative butter company, with one factory afc '.Dunedin, one at Oamaru and one at Owaka, Otago would be better served than it was now with four companies imanufacturing in five factories. How;ever, some companies were not agreeable to any form of amalgamation, and those three companies that wero in favour of rationalisation, the Co-opera-tive, the Taieri and Peninsula, and the Waitaki, went on to consider wkat was possible. The net result of all tho meetings between the companies and ,the executive commission was the pur--chase of the Waitaki company and the ilimited zoning that kad taken place. Prospects for tke coming season wero difiicult to forecast, Mr Waite added. Owing to tke difficulty of getting farm labour and tke comparatively high >value of wool and lamb, farmers could jnot be blamed for turning from dairy.ing to otker forms of production. Tkat ,was inevitable. Wkat effect it would kave on production in Otago no one ' could say. Tke local market position was interesting. In tke past a profit kad been made on local saies as against exported butter. From now on tkat position would not obtain. Factories jselling on the local market would gct a price closely related te tke London parity. Tho pay-out for tke coming season would, tkerefore, depend on output, rising costs, and the prices reaiised for butter on tke local market.