POSSIBILITIES OF THE PLAINS

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4423, 5 June 1922, Page 2

POSSIBILITIES OF THE PLAINS

A distinction of no mean order has been attained by the Ngatea butter factory in gaining first prize for a box of butter made by previous non-prizewinners. It is incidentally the only first place gained by any of the N.Z. Cooperative Dairy Company’s factories. It is a reflection of great credit on the suppliers and the staff. It has, however, a much deeper significance; it is an indication of the possibilities of the Hauraki Plains. The Ngatea factory is yet a new one in a new district, and it can be said that both suppliers and staff have been working under great disadvantages. Though the Hauraki Plains soil is undisputably rich—among the richest in the Dominion—its enormous possibilities have merely been indicated, and by no means fully developed. If, with uncompleted drainage, defective drinking water for the stock, the rank grass and the newness of the country, the farmers can at present supply cream which is later manufactured into prize-winning butter, what will the grade of cream be when the drainage is completed, fresh drinking water obtainable, the land consolidated, and sweetened, and a richer grass grown ? True, the first prize was obtained only among previous non-prize-winners, but there were over forty competitors in that class and the marks obtained—95 —are on a par with the prize winning butter in other sections. The Ngatea factory has been working only a little over a year, and during that time has been carrying a 25 per cent, overload. For the year ending May 31, 1922, the output was 1130 tons, while the capacity of the factory is a great deal less than that quantity. The average grade for the past year has been the highest for the N.Z. Co-operative Dairy Company, and during the past eight months there has not been one box of butter graded second-class in the Government grading stores at Auckland. This is truly a fine record, and one which the staff and management may well be proud of. It is also proof of the persistently high grade of cream being sent in by the suppliers, and is as yet merely an indication of the possibilities of the Plains.