N.Z. DAIRY ASSOCIATION

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 8, Issue 461, 2 September 1919, Page 2

N.Z. DAIRY ASSOCIATION

Annual and Final Meeting

Future Prospects Bright

About 100 shareholders of the New Zealand Dairy Association were present at the 18th annual meeting held in the Premier Hall, Pukekohe, on Friday afternoon. The attendance was no doubt considerably affected through the difficulties of travel on account of the restiicted train service. Mr Wi'liam Goodfello , managing director, presided, and the following directors were present: Messrs T. 0. Blockett, W. Claud Alotion, A. M. Barriball, R H. McKenzie, J. T. Young, and R J. Maisey. "HAKES Prior to the commencement of the ordinary business, the following resolutions were carried unanimously: 1. " That the capital of the Company be increased from £200,000, di. ided into 80,000 shares of £2 10s each, to £225,000, divided into 90,000 shares of £2 10s each, such additional shares to be issued as ordinary shares. 2. That the said additional shares may be issued and allotted by the directors to such persons, in such time, on such terms, and subject to any conditions, restrictions, or privileges as the Directors may decide. The resolutions will be submitted for confirmation at a meeting to be subsequently convened. REPOBK AND BAEANCE SIIEF.T. The report and balance sheet, as previously published in the Times, were taken as read, on the motion of of Messrs J. Henry and H. Dell. Referring to the report and balance sheet, Mr Goodfellow said it gave him much pleasure in congratulating the Association on the result of the past season's business. The turnover and output constituted another record. The past season had been the most successful ever in the history of the Association. There were four outstanding events that brought about such a successful season. Firstly, the war suddenly terminated —the greatest war in all historyresulting in a glorious victory for our Empire and our Allies. Our boys now returning made N.Z. famous. But for the parents of those who would not return we record our heartfelt smypathy. Secondly, during October last, the influenza epidemic hwept the country like magic, and it was only by a super-human effort on the part of their staff and suppliers, that the industry was kept going, for which the directors desired to record their best thanks. Thirdly, Mr H. E. Pacey, late managing director of the Association, resigned after 31 years' service, owing to ill-health. Mr Pacey was generally recognised to be one of the ablest men in the industry in Australasia. The succ?ss of the Association during the past seven or eight years had been largely due to him. " T t is only right and proper, therefore, that shareholders should place on record their appreciation of the valuable services rendered to the Association by Mr Pacey. Fourthly, the amalgamation of the Company with the VVaikato Co-operative Dairy Company and Waikato Cooperative Cheese Company, was agreed to." Mr Qoolfollow added that negotiations for amalgamation dated back as far as June 1917, when at the Hamilton Winter Show he was approached by Mr D J. Nathan, of Wellington, who in the first instance was in reality responsible for the amalgamation referred to. After Mr Pacey's resignation, Mr T. C. Blackett, the chairman of the Association, conferred with the speaker, and a joint meeting of their Boards took place, resulting in an Amalgamation Committee being formad. Owing to the nature of the New Zealand Dairy Association restrictive agreement with Joseph Nathan and Co. it was obvious to nil that no amalgamation could take place unless the glaxo factories were excluded, or Messis Nathan agreed to cancel the existing agreement, which contained a clause whereby the Association could not make powder, except with ssrs Nathan's consant, for 21 years. Negotiations with Messrs Nathan proved abortive, and the \[iial O 'V ..itio-. Committee then <ljeidoJ, ° ing on best legal advir<\ to carry it tae scheme placed before ii. >; I r-- r. c.-fitly, and curie i by -.a i'V m ij -r;ty T« • ,upi> i-is nt Matamatt and .tf.taegi • un mini >usly approv • i of tin i 'uvc j t-.»s* plans of amalgan. it ion h ex I ii'.i 'ing $,!.••«.) interests. Luite, an | i'-.ju scrion was placed on the Uirec- • i> s bv seveu £>laxo suppliers to | block tho anifdgaT.vnn unless MataI .a.ita and Matsuigi included | \ Supreme Court case v. as about to ; tolin-y, and he was appointed Mau- ! a o'"o Di.oct.ir c-1 tlie Association, | an 1 i.ihcr >tepo were taken to put up I l bifr liglr, w Hi the object ot forcing j tho roui'.vai ol the injunction. Sir J ill i Find! y a:.d Mr J. Morrison I (Wellington), and Mr F. Earl were j instructed to ecc on our behalf, while Messrs C. i' Skcrrett, K.C. (Wellington j, -itid Messis itussell and Campbell, .ind VcVoagh actod for the glixo suppliers. After i onsiderable lit iiul delay, the matter wax settled out of court, and it .vas wutuaiiy agreed to cancel all < xi-'in..; between tho Asioci itio.i and >-'<j4m-s J Nathan and Co , an i executive a now agreement to tho mutual advantage of both p tries Full details will be place i b -foe Mippliers in ci.cular t'.-nii ai'- rthe matter had boon consider."! by'ln M itamata and Ma tangi shareholders. He assured them, ji.iMMV.T, r'ia r liiey would be well s 'i li > 1 with this settlement, which w ul<t uivo tiio amalaniated company u iiim ban !, an ! obviatj any comp *T)s .1 Kv Joauj jh Nathan and Co. for a p'jii ji if 2') years. The inter-p-it.s t>f co operation imve beea fully safeguarded, a 1 In trusted, now that the .vas over, the suppliers woiii-1 bury the hatchet, and work lor ilia benefit of the in Hilary, ani thereby carry out the spirit of the agi cement. 1.001. SEASON. Iu ruviowiny; the past season, he sai'i lie wis phased to i a port a substantial increase in the output in | every department. The butter out-

put had increased 500 tons, cheese 100 tons and casein 7o tons. All of these were approximate amounts. Tho Association now represents six large central bu f ter factories, four cheese factories, fifteen casein stations and two dried milk factories. The Amalamated Coy will operate seven butter factories, eleven cheese, sixteen casein, and four dried milk factories, representing roughly an output of 8,000 tons of butter, 2,500 tons of cheese, together with dried milk and casein worth over £2,000,. 000 per ye-r. STAFF CHANGES I have already referred to Mr H. E. Pacey's retirement Mr Stevenson, manager of the Waiuku factory, who has been 31 years in the employ of the Association, has retired and we extend to him our best thanks for his many years of faithful service. Owing to amalgamation, some changes have been made. Mr Kirkman, formerly manager at Pukekohe, has been appointed supervisor of all factories, Th 6 outside staff has been re-arranged, so as to provide for qualified instructors to work among the suppliers of each large butter factory. The office staff will shortly be transferred to Hamilton, which centre will in future be the head office of the Company. A small Auckland office will be retained, and a London office opened as soon as practicable. TRADING In future the policy of the Com--1 pany will be to leave retail trading to the Farmers' Union The Amalgamation Company will confine its attention to importing manures and a few other big lines. It must not be overlooked, that the manufacture and marketing of dairy products was the real object of the concern. They could not go into an extensive trading business without larger capital outlay, and very careful supervision, probably to the detriment of the major portion of their business. ADVANCES They had a very large sum on their books, representing cash advances made to suppliers for the purchase of dairy stock. It was highly desirable to continue this department of business, and thereby help many deserving farmers to increase their herds. In order to assist as many as possible the directors are now limiting advances to £250, to any one client, and for the sole purpose of purchasing dairy stock, repayment being made by one-third of gross charges, interest at the rate ot 8 per cent being charged. This business, as conducted by us, is good and safe, but meant a heavy strain on the finances. The shipping position is improving, and during the past year, we made fairly regular and prompt shipments of butter, but with regard to cheese they were not quite so fortunate. TAYMBNTS A first bonus of 2d per pound to cheese and butter suppliers, will be made at once, and the balance would be paid when amalgamation affairs bad been adjusted, and a final settlement reached, from the New Zealand Suppliers' Equalisation fund. SALES During the year they soli onethird of their butter in New Zealand, m while two-thirds were exported. The export butter and cheese was sold to the Imporial Government for two years at 181s for butter, and 10|d per lb for cheese. Both figures are low, but butter especially, is not making a satisfactory return, when all things are considered. The sooner we return to pre-war trading the better. Tho Imperial Government would certainly, for some time, fix prices on the market, but they did not object to this, so long as they received prices for their pioducts equal to that paid to other producers of the Empire. A petition would be placed before Parliament shortly, with the object of endeavouring to get the loss on local butter sales paid out of the Consolidated Fund. It was a positive injustice to the dairy farmer to be compelled to supply butter to the public at a figure that was actually less than the present net cost of production. In conclusion Mr Goodfellow considered it his duty to warn suppliers to use caution in purchasing land at extensive prices Their market was Europe, and that part of the world was so unsettled that it was almost impossible to forecast prices. They would no d jubt, obtain an excellent return for the next five years, but after that no one could tell what would happen. 1 regard to prices paid for our i:e equal to that paid to ulnr-, ia immediate future was :i ..ae for the dairy trui r P i s" >r the coming season wo i'd be much the same as duti'": .ae past year. What they wanted as dairy faimers was more cuuponsatioa. They must not only consolidate their interests in New Zealand, but must get and keep control of the selling end of the business. Applause. Mr (i. P. Ewir , ia seconding the motion, said Vr i aod fellow's address was an < x one, and it was most g i ifyuig to have such a splendid i ,-ort. Amalgamation was a g<" -1 tiling fjt tho dairy farmers of New Zealand. Mr 11. K Pacey, late Managing Dirertor of the Association, said he had attended nil .»f the meetings of Associations s-'nc - 1901, and most of these meetings as an official of the Com piny. N»w in was a fellow "cockie,'' and lik he rest of the " cockies," was out t ■ earn an honest living, and In w.-.s pleased to be associated with the • \impany. The otfiee acv!-irupany!"_' the Chairmanship was an iion nr.! la one, and the lustres of that •th » went to Mr O »odf »llo.v, who •. >w occupied it He efpeeially appreciated all the reference-s ahou* aim, and trusted that ia fu'u.* t!i > Company would still pr >»r ss an i maintain the prosperity that had a: ways attended it. Tiie amalgamate i contract arrived at betweeu the O npany and Messrs Nathan wis sati-factory to both. They iiad enterel upon a new era as far hs the dairyi i r industry was concerned, and ho ousted the prosperity of the indus'iy w uld continue and expand, and fiat the amalgamation coutruct would do for the producers and th» community everything that was expected of it Mr Goodfellow said that they had had a strenuous tight, but now the fight was over, and there was no reason why they should not now be good friends. (Applause.)

QUESTIONS. Mr A L Hull, Otauaaskod if the Amalgamated Company was taking steps to investigate matters regarding the manufacture of sugar of njiik ? Mr Goodfellow replied that to establish a successful sugiv of milk factory it would be to have a large quantity of whey. It was very doubtful, he held, if the venture would prove a success with the quantity which the Ass iciatien would have available at one cen're However, the matter fuither investigated. In answer to a question an to what amount the Associati )!) h id c >n trihuted to the EquaM.sati >ll Fund, the secretary, Mr Dent, repliod approximately £45,000. Mr Henry asked, has the Association incurred any loss in connection with advances to settlers for the purchase of dairy stock ? Mr Qoodfellow said he had not been connected with the omuiny long, and that as far as he was aw ate, practically no loss had been m \de He had had considerable expense in this branch of the business with the Waikato Company, and could say that if the business was conducted on ; sound lines tLere was very little risk, advances being secured by register. d bill of salo, and one-third of the gross cream cheque was retained in payment of interest and prinoiple. Mr Hull said he had been informed that the payments last year wero a fraction less than the previous year, y*t they got 7s a ewt more from the manufacture. Mr Qoodfellow said the reason for this was that there was a slight carry over from the previous season A voice: Is there any prospect of getting any of the £ I 'iOOO back. Mr Qoodfellow said if they any back it would go to the Equalisation Fund. They had a petition in circulation and intended to submit it to the Government requesting n refund to be paid out of the Consolidated Fund. He hoped the petition would he largely signed, and he ti listed the Government would accede to the request A shareholder: Re that Buckland property. Have you done anything in the matter ? Mr Qoodfellow : No, not yet. Wo have been busy wiih If gal makers, but the matter would be attended to at an early date. The Amalgamated Company would take over the property and adjust mutters. Mrlienry asked would all shareholders receive £l for every £1 on the paid up capital in the Associa iou Mr Qoodfellow said the accounts were not yet adjusted, but he thought the shareholders would get at least that amount. This ended the discussion and the report and balance sheet were adopted unanimously. On the motion of Messrs G. T. Ewing and H. Pell, Mr Soerin-J 11. Matthews was re-elec'ed auditor at the same remuneration as lust year Mr T. C. Blackett on behalf of the Association thanked the stuff lot its ellicieut work during the year. They hud worked bfficii htly and well—all ranks, added Mr Blackett. They had passed through a time of great stress and iruuble but had served the Company nobly. He emphasised the good work of Mr 11. W. Dent, the secretary during the last 12 months. Much had been said abut amalgamation and he trusted oil would stand together like producers, and advance the cause. Their only

salvation to stand together, ai d produce as m all as possible. As long aa they elected practical farmers as directors they would have thier interests conserved. (Applause). Mr Goodfello k referred to the great work done for the Association by Mr H. E. Pacey. Mr Pacey had been connected with the Company for 31 years and had a great record. He worked himself up from an employee to bo managing director. As a mai k of appreciation of his past services Mr Qoodfellow moved" That this meeting of shareholders of the New Zealand Dairy Ansociation places on recoid its appreciation of 31 years' valuable service rendered by Mr B. E. Pacey, as an employee and managing director of this Association. The motion was carried with loud applause. Mr Pacey in returning thanks, said that while he was connected with the Association he did his very best, and it was gratifying to know that his services had been appreci ated. Mr Ewing stated that when Mi Pacey resigned, Mr T. C. Blackett lilted the position until a manager was appointed. He moved that Mr Blackett be voted £3OO for his work. Mr Blackett declined any special remuneiation with thank.*, and said when he took on the job be did nor waut anything and felt tlio same way now. What be did was for the bene lit of the Association. On the motion of Messrs McCorruick and Hull a hearty vote i f thanks was accorded the directors. The retiring directors Messrs J. T. Young and A. M. Barriball were reelected unopposed, and returned thanks for the continued confidence the shareholders had in them.