Framing Column

Hokitika Guardian, 4 March 1933, Page 8

Framing Column

PRICE DISPARITY. ; . SOME COMPELLING REASONS. The ever-present disparity between the prices’ of Empire and Danish butters lias been 'the subject of much discussion and conjecture on the part of L.nncirs of recent months and ' a letter from r< Lon dan house, published by Primary Producers’ News, gives some valuable information on this matter.

The, writer istates that he feels sure that producers must be very perturbed at the wide margin existing between Empire and Danish butters, In view of the doubts that must assail producers, he gave the subject considerable thought and, moreover, made inquiries among a large number of retailers throughout the county, how it was that the consumer will still continue to pry 2d to 4d a lb premium for Danish butter over finest- Domin-

ion. As a result oC the inquiry the writer summarised the position thus: 1. “Denmark was the first countiy to supply our market with large weekly quantities of high-class butter regularly throughout the year, and being the first in the field, she captured the best class trade and has built up l a valuable .weekly standing order ' business. 2. “At this season of the year 'the production in Germany,' France, Switzerland* Belgium and other Continental countries is at its lowest ebb, and notwithstanding the heavy duties and quotas that exist in these countries, they are obliged to .import certain quantities of foreign butters, and Denmark gets the bulk of this trade with the result that she has only sufficient, butter available for the .Brifcim market to ffil the standing weekly orders. It is the surplus that regulates the market ji consequently, Denmark, having no surplus to sell at this time of the year, is in a position to demand for her open orders on the British market the highest, price the consumer -will pay. Alternatively, in the summer months, when the Continental demand is very small, Denmark has a surplus for the British market over and above her standing order, and during this periI od Danish butter makes very , little ! premium over the price of finest Empire butter. 3. * ‘The. bulk of Danish butter is sold in. the Midlands, the North 01 England, and in Scotland, and the consumers in these districts have been for many years used to the, high acid and fresh flavour of Continental butter,'and .it is a difficult job to get the consumer on to Empire butter, which, although of an'equally-high quality, has not the aroma and flavour of freshly made butter, out of which lie gets a reasonable profit all the year round, and as long, as the., consumers will continue to pay the price, he will continue to stock it. Empire butter is sold as an under-price butter and generally at a very competitive price, out of which the retailer dees not get such a good margin of profit, and therefore he does not try to influence bis customers to switch over to Empire butter. “The consumer, seeing Empire butter always quoted Id to 3d a lb less than Danish, naturally infers that the quality is not so good as Danish and does not take the trouble to sample it. This does not mean to say that the sale of Empire butter- is ;.not increasing in the Nor t h , |f I 'ki id -'Midlands, the expansion in the demand during the last two years has-been phenomenal and the trade is still increasing, but the bulk of the trade- is extra consumption captured from the margarine trade, -and has not seriously interfered with sales of Danish butter, which stjll retains the' top price trade of the consuming public. “The secret of Denmark’s success has been a high- quality article, continuity of supply «nd distribution through- regular < channels whiejh have built upj goodwill with the consuming public; Tire remedy seems to be to educate the consumer in the Midlands and -in the North , 0 f England into the face- that the best Empire butter is equal in'quality-to any butter in the world, and this can only he done by advertising. If the consumer gives a preference for, or de mands a certain article, the retailer will soon stock it.

“The slogan at present in this country is ‘Empire/ and we? suggest that instead of Australia and New Zealand acting independently and trying to advertise their own particular produce they should pool their resources and start an advertising campaign for Empire butter. “The output of each country-is now about the same, and the price of finest New Zealand and “Kangaroo” butter on our market is also about the same, so no one country could claim that by combining forces in advertising, that they are giving undue advantages to the other. If such Pj campaign were successful, both countries would benefit equally end the relative price that each country would obtain would he determined by the preference given by the consumer.

“If such' a campaign were inaugurated, we believe that practically every multiple-shop company Mould support it by copious advertising in the press and in their shops. Wb feel sure that the press, in return for the advertisements, would give prominence to the subject in special articles. “You can reply on our assisting in every way to make such a campaign successful. Our bread and butter de-

pends upon the prosperity and development mi. the. dairying industry within tlnßEnipire and it is very humiliating to ail of us to see Danish butter making premium over Empire buttei; winch jUie difference in quality does not warrant.

According to the finding of the National Industrial Conference Board, “the farm worker of to-day is fr° m to 12,000 per cent, more efficient than his great gr-.uclfather w;«, in the day s of the. flail and the .y.i.tjru ng “back to the farm” seems to-day more of a “forwaia march. ”

Th e growing popularity of New 'Zealand dairy produce in the homes e or them England and Scotland is shown,by the fact that 252,809 boxes of butter and 91.231’crates of cheese entered the ports of Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow up t-o April 30 this year, compared with 154,607 boxes and. 74,228 crates during the corres-p'-odino period last year. Manchester (shipments have mor e than doubled compared with last year.

wj-ri,teen dairy c.ows that got their drinking water from cups right at their stanchion's will give as much or more milk than 20 equally good cows that have t-o go out to a tank of cold water or to ?. -creek fn r their water- in winter, states A. M. Goodman, New York Agricultural College dairyman. When cpwa have to -drink ice water they do not take as much a* they need. When th e ., water is readily available they drink a lot after eating their grain and .again after eating their hay. Drinking; cups can b,e installed at a i-fi.-cna'••le cost now, -and he recommends F’at barns be equipped with them before severe weather sets in. -AN INTERESTING ATLAS. A second edition of t-h& . Agricultural Atlas of England and Wales has been published by the O’dance- S urve y. B naa been prepared by Mr Malcolm Messer on behalf of the Agricultural ■Economics Research Instjtut P at Oxi'°-r u , and consists of a series of maps, which number 25 in-the second edition, marking th e distribution of livestock, the principal crops, and the: amount of labour employed, by means of dot s oi uniform size, each having a definite, value in numbers. It is . thus por.-sible to ,se P at a glance from these maps jest now -the'-acreage of sugar beet is ■distributed, wher e ther e is a concentra-tion-of .barley -growing, or how the pig population varie s . from one part of the country to another. The causes of the differences in distribution may be geological, climatic, or economic, and to facilitate-, the , proper study of the crop and stock maps, foundation maps in eoiour are included for use with the atlas.

ULTIMATE PRODUCTION

HEIFERS FIRST LACTATION

From the results published by various experimental stations it is generally assumed that to estimate the milk yield of a heifer when she reaches her -sixth lactation one gliould -add 31 per cent, to her first lactation yield, comments a-n Engl-'gh writer. 0 11 studying the records for the pa-st 12 years of a friend who runs a large dairy -herd aind breeds a].! his own heifers, i find hi, s -figures—for 100 cows —show an increase of 35.6 per cent, jn their sixth lactation. . His own opinion, however, is that part of these increases were due to better methods of feeding and management introduced during the period under review and that, .granted the same system of feeding and management, an expected increase of 31 per cent, would be a -ssfe figure to work on. - Incidentally, most of his cows reached their maximum production in their fifth lactation.