PROFITS ON FACTORY MADE CHEESE

Patea Mail, 14 June 1881, Page 4

PROFITS ON FACTORY MADE CHEESE

Mr Bowron, the cheese authority, has placed the subject of cheese-making in a very practical light. Beginning by relating his own English expeiience, he proceeds to show what results ought to be obtainable from a dairy farm. He works the thing out at per cow. The great question is how much is to be expected in money each season from each cow. The products are cheese of the first and second order, whey for feeding pigs, calves for sale to butcher's and others. His own management in the Old Country produced for him he says annually £2O, from each cow. One of his neighbours managed, by superior skill, to get £22 out of his ; while others, less fortunate or clever than either, were in the habit of averaging between £l7 and £2O. For this Colony he makes a calculation of £l4 per head, reckoning every one of the products at a smaller price. Mr Bowron’s figures are : yield of 50 cows during six and a half months in England ten tons of best cheese, at 74s per cwt; and one ton, second, at 60s, Total, 11 tons, or less than 5 cwts each. 100 pigs fattened with the whey, at a profit of 20s each ; calves, sold and kept, £9O ; the whole amounting in round numbers to £IOOO, or £2O per cow. For the Colony he estimates for 1000 cows, 5000 cwt of cheese at 5 cwt each, at 66s per cwt, calves and pigs at 20s per cow ; total £17,500; expenses being £3890 (estimated) the profit is £14,100, or £l4 per cow. It will be seen that the English estimate is a gross return, while the Colonial is a net profit. The comparison between the gross retnrnsis of an average of between £l7 and £2O, with a Colonial average of £l7 and a shade over. Farmers will be able to check the figures by their own expenses. A profit of £l4 per cow looks good enough to give an impetus to dairy farming of the most pronounced character. The estimated expenses include everything until the sale in London. They are : —lnterest on building, £l4O ; salt, £250 ; manager and four men, £650 ; rennet, colouring, and calico, £3OO ; packing cases, £SOO ; rail freight, insurance, £950 ; expenses in London, £6OO ; total, £3390. We presume that the “ manager and four men ” are to be the staff in case of the owners of the 1000 cows sending their milk ; otherwise, how are five unfortunates to attend to 1000 milkers ? Mr Bowron’s figures require very careful looking into. They tell us something, but not nearly so much as figures ought to. But this is the way of enthusiasts.—Canterbury Times.