WAIKATO CO-OPERATIVE DAIRY COMPANY.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 573, 4 June 1913, Page 7

WAIKATO CO-OPERATIVE DAIRY COMPANY.

KIO KIO DISTRICT. On Tuesday last meeetings of suppliers from Ranganui, Rangitea, and M«huki were held by Mr Wm. Goodfellow, managing director of the Waikato Co-operative Dairy Company. He was able to furnish much interesting and useful information regarding the up-to-date scientific methods of his company, which confines its activities solely to home-sepa-rated cream, and which has grown to be the second largest dairyihg organisation in the Dominion* Undjr the management of Mr A. G. Shirley the two factories had handled during the past season 55 per cent, in excess of the quantiy dealt with during the previous season. Perhaps the most convincing proof ever received of the high quality of their butter lay in the fact that the whole of the 300,000 boxes exported last season were first grade, and had reached, in the hands of Government graders, the splendid average of 91£ points. The suppliers' interests, continued the speaker, were always sure of the most graceful consideration, and, as the company was registered under the Dairy Industry Act, all profits had to be paid to the suppliers. The company was therefore of a genuine co-operative nature. The same price was paid to shareholders and non-shareholders. In replying to various questions, Mr Goodfellow showed that statements published recently regarding the cutting of butter priceß locally could not refer to the Waikato Co-operative Dairy Company, so suppliers should pay no attention to any such statements. During the year several suppliers had transferred their supply to another company. It spoke volmues for the Waikato Company's methods that four of these had already expressed their intention of returning next season. The prospective increase for next season was the greatest since the inauguration of the company. Mr Goodfellow also spoke of dairying machiney, which, he said, had been improved to so great an extent that the methodß up-to-date twenty years since were now unprofitable. Of late years the backblocks supplier had found in his separator means of procuring a speedy and rich return from land which would otherwise have been slow in yielding revenue. The increasing supply of cream arriving in small amounts of various degrees of ripeness had created a necessity for minute attention to scientific detail, so that when the final process was reached the cream might be of that uniformity essential to the production of first-class butter. In no other line of business was the benefit of expert knowledge more marked One slight mistake on the part of an imperfectly trained man was efficient to cause a loss of hundreds of pounds to the-suppliers. That parsimony on the part of directors which aimed at cutting down expense regardless of results was very libel to endanger the living of these men and women who had shown hardihood enough to face the rigorous condition of a life in the backblocks.