ZONING OF FACTORIES.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 222, 19 August 1937, Page 10

ZONING OF FACTORIES.

MANAWATU AREA. AMENDMENT MOOTED. , Further reference to the zoning of supplies for dairy factories was heard at the annual meeting of the Cheltenham Dairy Company, to-day, when the acting-chairman (Mr N. O. Jensen) dealt with the subject. “The' question of cutting, out overlapping of cream lorries has been discussed and considered .by the industry on many occasions,” he said. “Powers have been conferred on the Executive Commission of Agriculture under the Dairy Factory Supply Regulations, 1036, to tackle the problem. The Commission is armed with wide authority under these regulations, hut so far they are - not exercising these powers. The Commission appear to want the dairy factories to bring about voluntary agreements and in certain cases this is most difficult. There is nothing in these regulations affecting the right ofany farmer to supply either whole milk or cream; that means to right of any farmer to supply either a butter of a cheese factory as he wishes. Therefore there is no fixation of boundaries between a butter and a cheese factory, or dried-milk factory. “So far as the Manawatu district is concerned, you will probably have read the newspaper reports of some of the meetings to consider the zoning of suppliers. As it would take a fairly long time to review all the negotiations at these meetings, I shall briefly report on what transpired at the last meeting, and the outcome of that meeting. “The Commission recommended .that the system adopted in the. Waikato district should Ire. applied to the Manawatu. This system is known as the ‘two-factory’ rule whereby a supplier has a choice of one of his two nearest factories, but if the two nearest factories are situated -within seven miles of each other then the supplier has the choice of the next nearest factory; thereby in such case he has the pick of three. It was decided (but not unanimously) that this scheme should be put into operation immediately in the Manawatu, and an order was issued by the Commission accordingly. Such a scheme may be all right for the Waikato, where there arc large factories close together, hut'the circumstances are altogether different in this part of the island, and the position has. become very complicated. Evidently, the Commission have realised certain difficulties, because we have recently received advice that they ara considering issuing an amendment to their first order; they have also undertaken to review the whole position before the end of the present season. “The Commission’s action in ordering all dairy companies in the district to allot shares to their suppliers in proportion to their supply of butterfat is to he heartily commended. It is a .policy which our company has followed in the past, although we have lost supply through doing so because some of the other companies did not encourage their suppliers to become shareholders. The Executive Commission have complimented our company on the stand it lias taken and they have given instructions to other dairy companies to put their . share position in order, instead of being in the hands of a few shareholders,” Mr Jensen added.