MAROKOPA DAIRY FACTORY.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 602, 13 September 1913, Page 7

MAROKOPA DAIRY FACTORY.

The Editor

Sir,—l have read the report of the Marokopa Dairy Company's annual report with much interest, and as] it appears, to my mind, there is much room in the report for misrepresentation, in fair justice to myself I am desirous that a full explanation, why such a large amount of second grade butter was manufactured, be submitted to your readers. With regard to the Ratanui cream, this was packed to weighingin place in Ratanui from seven suppliers, who came from four to seven miles. The cream was there weighed and sampled in the hot sun about 10 a.m. and bulked, put into cream cans and packed a distance of 10 miles, and there put into 12-gallon cans about o p.m. the samaday; and there left, pending the arrival of the cream waggon the next day. which would collect it at any time between 12 a.m. and 4 p.m.. finally arriving at the factory, at some hour between the hours of 2 p.m. and C p.m.. emptied into a vat, there remaining all night in a mixed condition till next day before it could be pasteurised. This cream could not be graded, as it had to be bulked for packing, and as there was no alternative it was all passed in as first grade cream. On much of this cream the butter was from six inches to a foot thick, which had churned on the way. Much of this cream was also a week old before reaching the factory—the same conditions prevailing in the summer months also. The cream which was collected from the suppliers in the Waerengahou district from nine suppliers was treated in practically the name manner as the Ratanui cream. All the cream on the waggon route was placed on the side of the road prior to the arrival of the waggon the following day. This, of course, meant that it was unfair to grade this cream, which had considerably deteriorated during the ten hours it had been shut up on the roadside. Out of a total of 47 only 12 suppliers' cream could be classed as first grade, and as the cream from these suppliers would not amount to one third of the day's supply, and no* being able to get the cream in to pasteurise it the same day, I was compelled to mix it all together and manufacture one grade of butter. Then there was the transit of butter from factory to grade store. The butter would leave a nice cool chamber about 8 a.m. and be all day on the road to Kinohaku, a distance of 15 miles, and arrive there at any time between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., and perhaps unloaded many times off the waggon, necessitated to enable the waggon to be extricated from out of a deep hole, and on some occasions butter has been known to run from the boxes. After arrival at Kinohaku the butter was deposited in the wharf shed and sometimes left from one to three days, then taken to Kawhia wha'rf by laudch and left to await the s.s. Claymore, which would convey it to Onehunga and finally railed to Auckland. On many occasions the butter would.remain in Kawhia from three to seven days. The launch service was a very good one and all that could be desired, but was unable to maintain a regular service owing to the bad roads forming a barrier to the arrival of cream up to time, some ■suppliers having to pack" cream nine miles. However, the state of affairs could not be avoided, last season, and was not occasioned through bad management on the part of the suppliers, directors, launchmen, waggon contractor, or myself, and can be attributed to the bad state of the roads only; for had we had metalled roads waggons could have run up to time and all cream could have been brought in each individual supplier's cans and graded according to quality; and I contend that until such time arrives when each supplier's cream will be delivered separately ,tbe company cannot expect the existence of a very satisfactory state of affairs. And now as 1 have laid the car]set and done the pioneerng hardships my successor will undoubtedly find thin.ss very much more convenient in the near future, and the Ratanui cream going in another direction will add greatly to the quality of butter mad=!. With the experience gained for ihe past two seasons the directors will find the concern much more easily managed. I may state also that the water for washing the butter was taken from the Marokopa river, which was in flood and discoloured three days out of four, this al3o having a detrimental effect, in conclusion°l desire to wish the company, directors, and the present man-f.o-er every success in the coming season. —I am, etc., CHAS. THRUSH, Late manager Marokopa Dairy Factory.