"BOBBY CALF" EXPORT

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 251, 14 June 1932, Page 7

"BOBBY CALF" EXPORT

REMARKABLE GROWTH OF SIDELINE TO DAIRY INDUSTRY. REPORT FROM SOUTHLAND. That the. "bobby.calf" trade in New Zealand has assumed important dimensions is well illustrated by a report "vyhich has been ipresented to thq annual conference of the South Island Dairy . Association by the Southland Calf Export Committee. The report covers operations for 1931-32, and says: — "Five years ago to-day the annual conference of: this association had sqbmitted to it the f ollowing remit: 'That this conference take into consideration a • more economic means of disposing of calves.' The steps taken as a result of the adoption of that , remit have been responsible for the handling and export through the South Island j Dairy Association of 125,684 calves and, the distribution of i£89,150 4s lld. . , "The operations. of the pool under tiie control of your association represerit apprbxiniately only one-seventh of the turnover of the various dominion co-operative . pools, and it may safely be claimed that since you decided to lauich out on this scheme there have been, c'o-operatively, . handlej 981,788 calves,. resulting in the distribution of £624,050. Proprietary interests operptive in the , dominion, largely stimulated by the activitieS . of the co-operative pools, may reasonably be credited with handling in addition one-third the above number. A Valuable Sideline. ! "Arising out of this very modest ' sideline of the dairy industry, and created out of a previously neglected i commodity of almost no commercial ■ value, there has therefore since your ' entry into the. scheme beeii distributed almost one million pounds sterling.

"The value stated as distributed through your own pool (£89,150) is the net c.i.f. value, and does.pot cover London selling eharges, which were deducted prior to the amount named being arrived at. "The method in which that money has been dealt with may be of intel rest: — Returned to the producer, 51.17 I per cent.; inland transport of calves, j 5.39 per cent.; killing, freezing, and eharges to f.o.b., 25.50 per cent.; ocean freight, 9.52 .per cent.; all other eharges — i.e., insurance, storage, tagging, containers, printing, advertising, 2.85 per cent.; committee's expenses, .68 per cent,; chairman's honorarium, .12 per cent.; all other expenses, .51 per cent.; refund to factories, 1.05 per cent.; S.I.D.A. administration, 3.21 per cent. Five Years' Operations. "Over the whole period covered-—

that is, for the five seasons of operations — the owners of calves have received an eav.erage price of 7s 3d per head at the factory or farm gate. "With regard to the p&si seasori, the committee has had to face the world economic depression affecting all primary products and has had to accept materially lower prices than hitherto. "In Southland for the majority of calves you received an advance payment of 3s 6d and for the balahce 2s. It is proposed to pay out a bonus of 6d per calf all over, excepting for rejects, and this works out at an average of 3s 7d per head for all calves passing the grader. In the South Canterbury Pool the average payment per calf is 3s 6d. "The number handled was 27,5^4 head, the second highest intake since the pool was inaugurated.