BUTTER OR CHEESE.

Shannon News, 3 April 1925, Page 1

BUTTER OR CHEESE.

NEW ZEALAND'S FUTURE.

Writing in the "Wairarapa Age," Mr. Colman Phillips touches on a question which in a short number of years will become an important factor i'a the New Zealand dairy industry. "I regret to take exception to those farmers who maintain "that New Zealand prosperity depends solely upon the marketing of our produce, and not upon its manufacture," says this writer. "I contend that many dairymen will be ruined unless our whole process of manufacture is altered. Butter prices are down considerably, whilst cheese prices remain firm and good. The cheese factories are paying out 3d a pound more for butter-fat than the butter factories. It is evident, therefore, that New Zealand has no business whatever to manufacture the huge quantity of butter it is exporting. It takes 2 % gallons of milk to produce one pou'ad of butter; whereas that same quantity of milk will make 2 J pounds of cheese. Farmers are therefore face to face with the heavy loss in manufacture they are now experiencing." The dangers of an over-production of butter have, of course, been pointed out again and again, yet they have never been more prominent than they are to-day. The Russian Steamroller.

Russia,, which will still prove to be a steamroller to the dairy industry, is expected to export anything up to 25,000 tons of butter during the coming season, compared with about 7000 tons last season. From the progress made by that country in dairying it is estimated that, in the course of four or five years, Russia will have an exportable surplus of over 50,000 tons of butter. Against this, however, may be set the contingency of a general improvement .in the economic position of the millions of Russian people, who to-day, are not in a position to consume butter manufactured in their own country. Denmark A Butter Producer.

Denmark haa not yet as many dairy cows as in 1914. Nevertheless, the number of cows increased i'a 1923 by 38,000, but what is even more important, the output per cow increased as well. Denmark, as -is well known., is a butter country. Although it exported something like 6000 tons of cheese last year, the whole of this is practically made from sKim-milk and therefore does not come in direct competition with New Zealand cheese. One thing, however, must be remembered in connection with the Danish butter industry. The cream-separator has never found favour in Denmark and over ninety per ce-.it. of the whole milk is taken to, and separated at the factories. If a decided change in favour of cheese came to pass, Denmark, more than any other country, would be i'a a position quickly to cater for such new reqxiireniehts. The Baltic Provinces.

The Baltic Province of Latvia has sprung into greater prominence dur- 1 * ing the last four years, than any other country. From 21 dairy factories in. 1920 the number has increased to 448 in 1923. Of these, 75 per cent, are co-operative and the remainder privately.owned. With 580,126 dairy cows in 1923,. this province produced .30,000 tons of butter, of which only 3000 tons were exported. The quality of Latvian butter is spoken of very highly by London merchants and Latvia with her sister province is expected to make itself felt on the British market during the coming season. The Southern Hemisphere.

In coming to the Southern Hemisphere we find that this year the Argentine experienced a decided setback on account of severe droughts throughout that country. At the same time 1 , the latent possibilities of these vast regions must not be overlooked. This country is also mainly a butter country. Owing to bad roads, scattered districts and other disadvantages, the carting of milk to cheese factories is practically out of ,the question.

The tendencies of Australia with her exportable butter surplus of 64,000 tons during the present season are very much on similar lines. Transport difficulties play a much more important part in the dairy industry of Australia than they do in this country.

Mr Coleman Philips has therefore every right to say that the New Zealand industry has no right to manufacture the large quantities of butter we are exporting. , New Zealand by nature,, climate and every other condition is an ideal cheese producing country and sooner or latex-, the producers will be forcibly brought to realise this fact. Overproduction Impossible. Not that there exists an over-pro-duction of butter, in the true sense of the word. We have never heard of butter going to waste, or being dumped into the sea. Every pouncr of butter the world can produce will be consumed, for there are millions of people who never taste butter from one year to another. The greater, the production the greater the consumption — but unfortunately also—the lower the price. There is a point, where butter production will not pay the producer, and that point will be reached very soon at the present rate of production. There are a number of years ahead for the dairy farmer where the manufacture of cheese will undoubtedly give him the best returns, not that this will last for ever. In fact it may only be for a short number of years, for past experience has shown how quickly and imperceptibly economic factors will readjust themselves It remains, therefore, for ,the dairy producers to grasp the opportunity and not wait until the psychological moment has passed. During the best part of the year, New Zealand cheese has no competitor on ,the London market and the Dominion producers should make every effort to secure that position on the British market, which Denmark possesses to-day with regard to butter.