DAIRY FARMERS’ UNION.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4529, 19 February 1923, Page 1

DAIRY FARMERS’ UNION.

ANOTHER BRANCH FORMEBI At Keieone Soldier Settlement a meeting of dairy farmers took place for the purpose of setting up the local branch of the Dairy Farmers’ Union. Messrs' A. E. Fear, organiser, and T. C. Grace, secretary, were in attendance, and addressed the gathering. Mr Fear, congratulated them on .the successful formation of so substantial a branch, embracing almost every dairyman on the settlement, and remarked that their case was a typical one, dairy farmers everywhere recognising the value of an organisation devoting the whole of its energies w the care and well-being of the dairy farmers, in an advisory way, and keeping a watchful eye on all things connected with the industry. “We don’t trade; neither do we promote co-operative company concerns,” said Mr Fear, “lest our wake be strewn with the wrecks of cooperative ventures. Our time and attention and the caiptal o< our, members, amounting to many thousands of pounds, should not be expended in a fruitless endeavour to establish concerns which we could not successfully operate. The trouble,” said the speaker, “was that we tried to run the othei fellow’s business before we know our own, the intricacies of which should be sufficient to satisfy the healthiest .appetite for work and worry. Let us concentrate our energies on our own business, improving our methods and the quality of our cattle, reducing waste and our overdraft and mortgages, increasing pur efficiency as farmers, and incidentally increasing our bank account. “The Dairy Farmers’ Union,” continued Mr Fear, “prefers to follow this rule, profiting by the failure of the Farmers’ Union to do all those things which that body had striven to do, rendering a service to the farmers through the object lesson provided. No better proof could be found of the wisdom of minding your own business in all its phases, which include the production of our own products and the transportation and marketing of them. To do these things effectively we must first of all be united, our aim being the enrolment of every dairyman in New Zealand in the Dairy Farmers’ Union. Next to this we desired to establish a federation of all farmers, enabling us to secure the recognition and respect we are entitled to. “We deal with matters of vital interest to the farmer,” said Mn Fear, “such as land values, rent and inter; est, the lifting of the Moratorium, and the placing of evicted farmers on abandoned farms. We advocate the exclusive use of pedigree bulls, the close study of line breeding, balanced feeding and testing. We no not believe in the testing of cows for the purpose of discovering the good and bad in the herd under a system which costs more than it is worth and encourages the establishment of a herd book for scrub herd sires and scrub foundation cows. We can find our bad cows at one quarter of what it is costing under the Farmers’ Union scheme.’’

Mr Grace gave an outline of the Union’s strength, showing the continued support of old members who recognised the value of an up-fo-flate organisation that brought continuous and direct benefits to its members, many of whom were ardent propagandists who believed that they were entitled to an organisation of their own. New members were being enrolled everywhere where the gospel was preached. “As an instance,” said Mr Grpce, “during December we added over 300 members .to our roll, two new executives will be operating before our winter conference, and the establishment of a central executive will follow.”