Thank you for correcting the text in this article. Your corrections improve Papers Past searches for everyone. See the latest corrections.

This article contains searchable text which was automatically generated and may contain errors. Join the community and correct any errors you spot to help us improve Papers Past.

Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image

RUSSIAN BUTTER INDUSTRY.

An interesting delegation of Siberian peasants recently visited England to study British agricultural methods and co-operative systems. When the Siberian farmers begin to wake up and show a desire for more modern methods of manufacture and dealing with their products, it is a hopeful sign of the improvement going on amongst the farmers of that vast region of fertile land, the possibilities of which, under the adoption of modern systems, have been demonstrated only within the past few years. What effect the development of the dairy industry there, which has already proved a formidable rival to Dominion industry Will have upon our trade in butter is hard to Bay, but its proximity to the Home market fihoald give it a Btrong advantage over colonial rivals. Stretching from the Ural mountains to the confineß of Mongolia ia a vast fertile region, specially adapted for the grazing of cattle and tho rearing of pigs and poultry. Little could be done for the development of this region until tbe opening of the Trans-Siberian railway. At first the country by Russian merchants, Who bought up the butter from the farmers at starvation prices. But at length a few cf the latter conceived the idea of pooling their produce and sending it direct to market, dividing the proceeds in proportion to each member's contribution. After some vicissitude this system proved so advantageous that reorganisation on a broader basis became necessary, together with strict regulations as regards membership. Their chief industry was, and s f ill is, the making of butter, and arrangements were entered into for placing this commodity on the English market. Gradually this union of peasant farmers assumed gigantic proportions, the success of the enterprise benig in great measure to Mr-A. A. Balakßhin, who- ia now director of the union. He is regarded with loving reverance by the 300, OOu souls to whose well-being he has devoted his life, and b.v whom hs is affectionately spoken of as "the little grandfather." And indeed powers of an exceptional order were required to organise and control so vast an enterprise. Central factories had to be erected, tu which the milk is sent from the different farms, each farmer being credited with the amount of cream derived by the separator from his milk. About three-fourths of ths value is paid him in cash; the balance depending upn the market price realised by the butter is settled periodically. To maintain a uniform standard of excellence, no farmer ia admitted to the unio.i until his premises have been spprovad and his cattle certified free frpm tuberculosis or other disease. ' To show how much the work of these Siberian peasant farmers means it may be mentioned that more than one-fifth of the butter is consumed in Great Britain is derived from Siberia, which sends upwards of 40,000 tor.B annually. In addition vast quantities of eggs, as well as cheese, are sent to England, for the Siberian union a few years ago engaged English instructors to teach them the making of ceddar cheese.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/KCC19140926.2.7

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 707, 26 September 1914, Page 3

Word count
Tapeke kupu
506

RUSSIAN BUTTER INDUSTRY. King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 707, 26 September 1914, Page 3

RUSSIAN BUTTER INDUSTRY. King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 707, 26 September 1914, Page 3

Help

Log in or create a Papers Past website account

Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.

By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.

Log in with RealMe®

If you’ve used a RealMe login somewhere else, you can use it here too. If you don’t already have a username and password, just click Log in and you can choose to create one.


Log in again to continue your work

Your session has expired.

Log in again with RealMe®


Alert