PRICE OF DAIRY LAND.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XL, Issue 1874, 7 September 1918, Page 1

PRICE OF DAIRY LAND.

REPLY TO SIR ROBERT STOUT

At a meeting of the Mangamaire Cheese Co. (Bahiatua), held on Saturday last, the recent comments of Sir Robert Stout on the high price of land and the disastrous results likely to follow, were discussedd. Secretary Brechin urged scientific meihod,:. The number of cowmilked at Rexdale was .1,4(58, and the average but tor-fat yield was 21()lhs. This gave at Is lOjd lb. £l9 10s per cow. if the standard were raised 50lbs. per, cow, each cow would earn £24 2s, an increase of £4 1.2 s per cow. Suppliers would have earned with the same cows on the same land an additional £(5,888 in the season, and this with very little extra labour. This sum would build a factory capable of treating all the milk delivered at Rexdale and Konini factories and leave it free of debt. There were 777,430 dairy cows in New Zealand with a yearly average of butter-fat of Killbs. If ibis average were increased by 50 His., at Is IOJd per lb., or £4 10- per cow, the dairymen of the Dominion would win another £3,600,000 for butter-fat. At the pre-war price of Is (id per lb., or £3 15s per cow, I here would st ill lie a surplus of £2,900,000. A rise of £3 15s per cow would give Rexdale suppliers another £5,572, enough lo build a new factory, or to give .the over-worked directors a riotous trip Home after the war. IVith due respect to Sir Robert Stout, Mr Brechin predicted (hat with scientific methods the price of land in Bahiatua would rise to £1.0(1 per acre.