Rongotea Dairy Factory.

Manawatu Herald, 18 December 1902, Page 2

Rongotea Dairy Factory.

The other day our representative had an opportunity of inspecting the butter factory at Rongotea. The visit was a very interesting one, but we are not going to detail all that was to be seen and heard. The Rongotea district is a land flowing with milk, if there is not the biblical honey as well, and is a scene of activity from morning to night. The origin of the company is ancient history as to how the settlers were determined to keep the profits to themselves and therefore determined to run the factory as a local industry. The management has been excellent, and though the company gives its shareholders the highest price for butter fat, they have made money out of the business.

Thera is a disinclination on the party of the Bongotea company to traffic in creameries as to their mind it is impossible to make an even grade of butter from different lots of cream as can be made where there is only one lot of cream to deal with. They therefore enlarged their premises and in it ran six separators which are working daily from the start to past noon. The factory is so arranged that three deliveries of milk can be taken at one time, which one can conceive is most necessary when there are sixty eight suppliers to attend to. The milk after being weighed is put into cisterns which supply the separators below, and in the room below the separated milk flows from the machine into an iron trough which runs into the churning room. From there it is lifted by a very neat machine, called the Sabroa cream elevator, to a height so that it overflows over a cooling frame into two large tanks capable of holding about 300 gallons of cream. These tanks are cooled by pipes running around them, and when the cream is ready, in about twenty four hours, it is run into the churn below.

The motive power is supplied by al4 h.p. engine. The butter, when made, is put by in slabs into a cooling room and the pounds are worked and cut off by a machine, very similar, but smaller, as the bricks are that are machine made.

The butter when in boxes, are placed in an extra cold room waiting for delivery. The butter before being packed is as hard as iron and looks most refreshing. •The company has three brands and it is only the butter for the local market whieh is made into pounds. The boxes hold from 501bs to 561hs weight. Mr Neilson is the manager of the factory and Mr Whittaker is the courteous secretary. We understand that during the past month 54,0001bs of milk has been received daily, and some of the suppliers have been reciving an amount equal to one pound per head

from the cows milked per month. Last month the sum of £2185 was paid for butter fat. The milk is guaged twice a month at the factory. Last year the sales totalled .£23,000. ' The butter boxes are all made in Hongotea and the maker supplies six or seven other factories. The factory has a fine artesian well, but the water is not suitable for the engine, and two large underground cisterns are provided for rain water, into one of which the steam exhaust is laid. Hongotea may well be proud of her factory which has been the means of giving profitable employment to a large number of farmers and has tended to increase the value of land.