N.Z. DAIRY ASSOCIATION.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 205, 1 September 1916, Page 4

N.Z. DAIRY ASSOCIATION.

Managing Director's Address. At the annual meeting of shareholders of the New Zealand Dairy Association, held in Hamilton on Wednesday, Mr H, E. Pacey, as Managing Director, submitted a report of the year's doings and of future prospects In the course of his speech he dealt with the problem of combatting depreciation in the standard of milk, which according to authorities was in evidence both in the Dominion and other countries His remarks thereon were very much on the fame lines as detailed by him at last week's meeting of ihe Pukekohe Dairy Suppliers, whfeh weie duly reported in these columns Inter alia, Mr Pacey also said : "The Association's turnover for the past year was £872,373 5s 2d. The accounts whL-h were adopted by the annua! meeting which met sixyears since show £291,871 14s 5d as the turnover The increase in turnover of £580,503 10s 9d per annum in six years is worthy of the Association and of its splendid body of co-operative suppliers, whose enterprise and industry, together with better markets, have made such result possible. To further emphasise the comparison, I would add that the turnover for the coming season will likely approximate £IOO,OOO, due again partly to increased output, partly to better marketing prospects, and to* new departures in the organisation of the business. Possibly a few cows will be transferred to a rival organisation during the coming season, which cows were milked for the Association during the past season. In so large a company absolute unanimity can hardly be expected. The outlook, however, is encouraging, for we shall likely gain from the other organisation a dozen cows for each one which we shall lose. Indeed, probably the proportion of increase will be even greater. The espirit-de-corps of the Association was never better, and our prospect of unity and expansion was never brighter. The Association's payments for butterfat have never shown up so satisfactorily by comparison. Uur butter department has tirade avei age payments of 10.73 d per lb butterfat for all tho year round supply direct to the central factory daily from September to March, which is at least e<jual to the best in tho Dominiou and much bettor than most, while the record payments for the Waikato made by our cheeeo department are a source of gratification to tho suppliers thereto, and are a rebuke to the unwise utterances and unworthy actions of some. The quality of the Association's product has again won the cordial praise of its agents in Great Biitaiu. " Duiing the year some-impor-tant changes have been made in connection with the Association's affairs. Theso include:—First, a new airangement governing the incidents of payment for butterfat which has made possible for the first time a direct comparison. The result of this new policy and of the comparison are entirely satisfactory and promise to be permanent. Second, decision to make all distributions to shareholders and suppliers on a butterfat basis instead of part on share dividend and part on butterfat basis as before Third, provision for the allotment of " C " issue shares which arj indemnified against depletion of their par value by any change on account of closed creameiie«, thus removing the " bogey " which was raised to frighten timid ones. Fourth, arrangements to resume more shares subject to the provisiou of the " Dairy Industries Act." First attention will be given to the resumption of shares from persons who have sold out and Jeft our territory. 2,716 shares have been resumed duriDg the past season. These matters have been reviewed with the shareholder-suppliers in our several centres and havo had almost unanimous approval. Thus, it is not necessary for me to elaboate the proposals here. " I would take this opportunity of congratulating Mr J. T. Young on his reappointment without opposition as Upper Waikato Representative upon the Directors' Board. In the Lower Waikato Mr A. M. Barriball has had to contest his seat, but he has been returned for a further ttrm aud will be cordially

welcomed back by his fellow directors Iu saying this I do not disparage Mr Joseph HenTy who contested the &eatwith Mr Barriball. Mr Henry's long interest in the Association aud bis wide experience would have made him a welcome addition to our Board, My only regret is that we cannot have the help of both the candidates. " Prices have ruled much higher than usual during the past season and there bas been much talk and criticism about the extremely good times which the producers are enjoying and about tue exploitation of the consumers. I recognise high prices have made problems for the consumers and I fear in some cases possibly hardship which I, for one, should be glad to relieve if I know how to do it. Talk about exploitation, however, is quite unjustifiable especially when indulged in by politicians and others who claim to be leaders of public thought and whose general opportunities leave little justification for ignorance of the facts The pri° 6 °* butter on the local market at present is not nearly equal to export values after allowing for the cost of prepaiing the butter for the local trade and marketing same. This unfortunate position has obtained for some time past and has made serious problems for some of the companies which like our own have a considerable share of the local trade. Manifestly wo cannot compete successfull* for supply if we sell our butter for l'Bs than our neighbours get for theirs and disintegration would be the penalty for such a course. There is another phase of the question which sometimes does not get as much consideration as it merits. Present high prices do not represent as far as dairy farmers are concerned the fabulous wealth which would be represented by the difference between present and ordinary values. " The cost of labour is very much higher at present than usual. Manures, fencing wire, benzine, etc., are almost out of sight, while practically everything which the farmer has to purchase is up in price to an inordinate extent, to say nothing of extra taxation. Some producers who occupy farms which they acquired in other days and which are reasouably well developed may be able to add a little to the feathering of their nesU Those, however, who are developing new farms especially if they were purchased recently are still up against the old problem of making ends meet for the extra cost of production hits them badly. "Under the necessities of war, science has been brought to bear, inventions have b?en less trammelled ; organisation has had its play. These, and other influences, have increased the industrial efficiency of our people to au extent which defies computation. These new influences will continue to dominate the industrial life of our Empire, the produciag power of which will be permanently and enormously increased. New standards of living are also being evolved, and will likely endure under the new conditions. These and other influences possibly aided by fiscal changes promise bigger and probably better markets than we have ordinarily enjoyed for our Dominion's primary products. It is difficult to say whether butter or cheese will profit most under the new conditions. They must both see lower prices than those which now prevail. For the immediate present, however, ami while the war lasts, probably cheese will have the advantage, but both cheese and butter will rule extraordinarily high, and the enhancsd value of calves and pigs will do much to reduce the difference between the two on a nett comparison. Drought in the Northern llomisphere will add to the price of both products. "It is worthy of note that the principal cheese producing countries are not menaced by war. Their production of cheese has been increased while the tendency has been for their butter production to fall. The butter producing countries, on the contrary, have been subject to serious wastage in these respects, and normal production cannot be looked for for many years. Even in Denmark it is reported the herds are being seriously depleted. It is said this is partly due to the unprecedented price offered for meat and partly to the greater difficulty in obtaining artificial feed, upon which the Danish dairymen are to a considerable extent dependent. Certain

t is that Danish butter is much less plentiful than formerly. These conditions must influence the future to in enormous extent. Whatever may ue said as to tho respective prospects ef butter and choese and other product*, it is certain that the future production of all primary products in the Auckland province will be enormously in advance of that of any other part of the Dominion. Auckland is surely coming to its own and the undisputed prospect is that the primary producers will make the city of Auckland the largest and most important commercial centre in the Dominion, and that to an extent altogether beyond anything which most of its citiz >ns have yet realised. "Of course, all condition must be subject to the maintenance of regular shipping facilities. In this respect we are not through the woods by any means, but the Government and its officers, with the Overseas Shipping Committee, have done splendidly thus far, and the outlook is not desperate, but whether the results will be a little better or a little worse than during the past two seasons cannot be exactly estimated."