STRATFORD DAIRY COY.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 2, 1 August 1916, Page 5

STRATFORD DAIRY COY.

ANNUAL MEETING.

The annual meeting of the Stratford Farmers’ Co-operative Associa-

tion, Ltd., was held in His Majesty's Theatre yesterday, the Chairman of Directors (.Mr R. Dingle) presiding over a good- attendance of shareholders.

An apology was received for the absence of Mr M. T. Phillips. In moving the adoption of the report and balance-sheet, the chairman welcomed the shareholders to the meeting. He and his co-direc-tors were always pleased to meet the shareholders at least once a year. The past had been a very favourable season from a dairyman’s point of view. This part of Taranaki, where it was said it was always raining, had had a most favourable season as far as but-ter-fat was concerned. They had to congratulate themselves on the fact that when other parts of the colony were parched, the grass in this part of Taranaki was good. The increase $ in output had been very considerate i—to' the extent of about 115 tons. The increase in the price was also considerable—about 2id per lb butterfat, and this gave them more spending power. The Company was fortunate in consigning to the firm it did, and the agents advised them to send unsalted butter. The quality of the butter was good, though he had heard people say “what terrible butter wo are eating now.” Many people kept the butter for a long time in extraordinary places and expected it to taste like fresh butter. One way to keep it fresh was to put it down with salt in jars and then it would come out good. In reference to the bad flavor one could not manufacture a good article with inferior material. There were times when the quality of the milk warranted the Company sending it baric.—(A Voice: “Every time.”) —He had heard a great Meal of discussion during the past year on how to feed a milking cow as it ought to bo fed. At a recent meeting at 'New Plymouth, a number of gentlemen, -nqtVtlVa representatives ;of thp Company, condemned the feeding of cows on soft turnips altogether. He had been supplying milk to different companies for at least twenty-seven years and had tried all kinds and also the most profitable feed. Soft turnips were all right if the cows were fed on them in a judical and intelligent manner. The milk would not then be tainted. If farmers turned cows on soft turnips, and there was a certain amount of swedes and rape seed mixed in, as there generally was, the milk would be tainted. Farmers should feed their cows as much as they could and produce as,much milk and butterrfaj,., as they could, hut they should give a. thought to the good quality of the butter. THE TESTING POLICY.

A question that had been before the dairy companies for many years was cow-testing, Many had also taken advantage of the testing. He spoke very strongly’ on the matter, and said that he had taken advantage of both the Government tester and independent testers. It would pay every farmer to test his cows and weigh the milk for a period of two years. If a cow did not give a certain amount of milk it should be culled out. If this were done, the increase in the output would be a great deal more than last year. Some farmers did not cull out certain cows because they did not know what they were producing. They were not milking cows for the fun of it. but foiy the money they could get out of it, and they should get every ounce of but-ter-fat they could off the land.

WAR PROBLEMS. In the course of his remarks on producing generally, Mr Dingle said the war was on them, and: there was very little doubt that they would he urged to give a large amount of money. Taxation was on them, cheese, butter and everything had gone up, and they should increase the product of the land to meet it. The man earning £3OO a year and £IOO a year were supposed to be exempt; yet they would be taxed not only dnring yie period of the war but for years after. The.man on the land should, therefore produce all he coxilcl. In some places where the land was fairly equal, the difference in produce was as much as £4 to £8 per acre. This was in evidence even in their, own factory district. This often occurred with farms situated side by side. This sliouid not arise, one man should be as good as another. The man who was getting the poorest results should ask his neighbor how he was getting such good results it he wanted to produce more. THE CAPITAL ACCOUNT.

The Company had been in existence for twenty-two years and started in a very small way. The capital account of the Company, he had told the shareholders four years ago, was practically free of debt. Tho Company was not paying interest, and there was a credit as far as interest was concerned. Tho capital account had a debit balance of about £2OOO brought about by the shares in the Box and Freezing companies. Neaily every share was taken up, and in consequence very little share capital was coming in. They were taking up shares in outside concerns, which they had to pay for. They had shares in the F.gmout Box Company and tho Taranaki Producers Freezing Works, Ltd., for which uo provision had been made. A certain amount had been spent at Robson Road and £1.30 on the office for whiyh there was no provision. They had to build a testing room and many other things from time to time, which should he provided for. If something was not

done, the Company would go back. 0 The incoming directors should adopt i some scheme for expenditure to he' jused from time to time. There were () m;:ily’'lvays of doing it. If they wrote | off 10 per cent, a year, it would suf- , (ice, or write off a certain sum for repairs and renewals. Another way would .he to reduce the share basis from ICOlbs (which was ruling to-day) j to 1. 10111. s (the former share basis), j He hoped the directors would not forget the matter. | GENERAL ITEMS. v A question that liad received con-* * siderable attentioil from the directors 1 was the carting of the cream ‘ ‘outj s east.” The purchasing of a motor t lorry had been discussed, but it was, c a‘ fairly expensive matter. The in-j s coming directors would have to pur-j c chase a motor lorry or lorries. The- \ old boiler at the factory, which had c seen 18 years’ service had been re- i placed by a Murray boiler at an ex- < penditure of about £4OO. The boiler should have been replaced years ago, x but with a view to economy its re- 1 placement had been delayed. The . £4OO would be charged to the repairs , and renewals account and also would the repairs to the freezing chamber. . Ti c factory itself was getting into a bad state. It had been built many! \ ears and the timber near the ground j was rotten. A commencement had been made with concreting work and i he hoped the directors would carry on the work and the present buildings ( would then last for another 20 or 30 years. The articles of association ( would have to he revised and distributed' amongst shareholders. In reference to wages the directors last year considered it their duty not to increase the wages hut to grant war bonuses. The grant was made on the understanding that after the war the. men would have no claim on the Com-, pany. He took it that the • share-1 holders, considering the prices they got for their produce would approve of the 10 per cent, bonus. The Secretary and Manager had beer, granted j £25 each. In reference to freight, it ■was astonishing to him and the directors, and an agreeable surprise to all that they paid out what they did. It was thought that they might reach 16d, but when it came to the washing up there was an extra £SOO. The profits increased from 2s 6d to 3s 9d‘j per box which had meant an increase in this account to the.,, extent of £1720. Boxes lu;,d also advanced fd each. They had £299- ,3s Id to carry forward excluding the butter on the way Home. One sliipi merit, of 3600 boxes, which was esti- ( mated to realised 168 s realised 1 1 0 s. I Another steamer with 954 boxes, 1 aboard had not yet reached the Oldj I Country and there was every chance cl j ! this .shipment also reaching 170 s. The directors had always tried to do justice to the shareholders and the Company. The speaker called the attention of the meeting to the amounts --on the hunkers,.which fiad been built. As iar as fuel was concerned,' the'Company had had to alter its policy and there was little doubt that before long all coal] would be used, wood being a thing of, the past. The amount of £lO,llO 8s j 4tl against sundry debtors represented j butter that had hccin sent > Home andj for which the money had IK)t thenj been received. The amount had since been paid, The policy of sending butter Homo though good prices were offered locally had put several luindrodsj of pounds into the pockets of the , shareholders.

THjS HISTORY OF THE COM PA W. Tlio Chairman briefly outline'.! the history of the Company since its inception 22 years ago. The Company in the early days ran a dual plant, ' butter and cheese, and said the speaker, paid out the enormous amount of 7d per lb for butter-iat. During the first year £7-100 12s 9d had been paid to shareholders, and no doubt the suppliers were, more contented than they were to-day. (Voices: “hear, hear.”) In nearly six yearn the price increased to Bd. In 1991 when ho joined the Company, they paid out about Pd and had a turnover of £10,929. Some time prior to this date, the Skinner Road factory was built. The increase in the price and business was as it should be. In 190.4 they purchased the business of the Crown Dairy Company, and the speaker remarked: “and a rotten business it was.” The turnover in 1903 was £23,390, Did being paid for Imtter-lat. At this stage one <.f the shareholders told the speaker that they had a great amount of business to transact, and | that he should give the rest of t..e story to the reporters. The share holders would then be able to road the history while sitting in front of the fireside to-morrow evening. The mooting almost unanimously decided to hear Mr Dingle. - Continuing, the speaker said in 1016, the year just passed, they produced 1,564,302 lbs Imtter-fat. The price was also increased to 16.5-Id in spite of all the talk about margarine taking the place of butter. Ihe turnover was well over £IIB,OOO. £3OO had been written-off for depreciation, and there was still about another £2OO to he added. The Company would he started off this year under very good circumstances. MR DJXCD/E’S PART. lu conclusion, Mr Dingle said he had represented the Company for the last fifteen jears, and for the last twelve as a director. He had seen the Company grow to what it wa; to-day. He had taken a keen interest m the dairv industry for 27 years, the best part of his life had been connected with the industry. Ho had been connected, with the (H kclm Dairy Company, which was the second to be started in Taranaki, and ho was proud to-day to be able to give the shareholders the figures ho had. He was proud to think that' the dairy mdus-

try had advanced as it had. It had not i);:eu done by looking at the worn, or for fun, but had been done by the hard work of farmers, their wives and families. The dairy farmer, iu his. opinion, workod harder than any laborer. Mutter should not be sold at less than Is Id or Is Gd if labor and capital were taken into consideration. Nothing in the world was produced cheaper when everything was considcied. He had attended all the annual and ordinary meetings of the Company. Ho was a provisional director of the Taranaki breezing Company, on which board lie had represented the Company, and also in the Box Company, from which he had recently resigned. In both positions he had tried to represent tne company honestly and well. Concluding, the

speaker said the shareholders had to elect directors, aim he hop-al they would select good men, not the man on the street or an agitator, but tinman with common sense and,, with a certain amount of commercial ability. Air S. J. Rawles, in seconding the motion, said they had to he congratulated on not only securing such a price as they did, but also for getting their produce homo safely. The report and balance-sheet were adopted. THE TOKO FACTORY. In reply to a question from Mr •). Paul, the Chairman said the matte! of the value of the Toko factory, which the speaker said was ridiculous to put on the balance-sheet at £641 8s sd, was a matter they had no control over. The business had been purchased from the Crown Dairy Company, and he would not say that if was not worth the amount paid. It the shareholders would sanction the sum of £3OO being deducted as depreciation and taken off the butterfat returns, the directors would do it like a shot. The Company was in an

good a financial position as any in the Dominion.

Mr R. McK. M orison sa.id lio agreed with Mr Paul, that i! Iho plant was worth £IOO, it should be valued at that figures Mr S. J. Rawles said they should write the amount oil by degree.-;, / COST OF CREAMERIES. The Secretary furnished the meeting with the information asked for hy a shareholder, and also read some interesting figures relating to the estimated charges on consignments shipped ,Homc during the past season.

MANUFACTURE OF RENNET. Mr W. Richards, chairman of the Cardiff Cheese Company, wrote asking, the Company’s co-operation in supplying veils lor the manufacture oi rennet. If the services of an expert could be obtained, a manufacturing company would be formed, fau.ag which the veils would be exported jor manufacture. The writer pointed out "thafr little time and trouble was necessary to cut out the \ ells, and that full information on the process would willingly be given to any enquirers. The price of the veils would well repay the supplier for the trouble taken, and j the co-operation of suppliers would j largely assist the cheese'' jAjdttstry. I Rennet was now very high in price, bej ing £4O per cwt, as agahist .the previous price of about £-i.d i! „ J f On the motion of Mr R. McK. Morisot), seconded by Mr O’Neill, it was I decided that the Cardiff Company be thanked for their letter, and that it he an instruction to the incoming directors to assist as far as possible in giving the new industry a start, and to cooperate where possible with the Cardiff Company. DEPUTATI ON I STS.

An implication was received from the Executive Committtee of Stratford Agricultural and Pastoral Association for permission to address the meeting with a view to furthering the interests of the Association. Permission being granted, Mr 11. Masters apologised on behalf of Mr E. Jackson ('President of the Association)

(who was unable to at toad, and placed I before the meeting some c ogent reaI sons for shareholclers ol the Company and fanners, and milk suppliers as a. whole, to support and farther tJie objects of the Association. Mr Masters stated that the aim of In’s Executive .was to “fly high,” and make tin* jStratford A. and P. Association the I premier association of .New Zealand. They wanted more members; at present they only numbered about GOO, and it was essential to success that they should have at least 1000. The Association was at present working on hank overdraft of C2OOO, and had various smaller obligations to meet, and it was quite impossible to deal with these liabilities in a satisfactory I way out of such profits as were at | present obtainable. The improved llinance must come out of new membership and if only they could touch the high water mark of a thousand members, a very few years would place them out of debt and on a thoroughly sound financial footing. The Association had thoroughly justified its existence, and deserved the whole-hearted support of every farmer in the district. A great desire of the Executive was the establishment of a Model Dairy Farm in Stratford, • but of course this was an ambition which required a pertain amount of finance to carry out. He was assured, however, that when the war clouds passed away the object of the Association would be attained, and he had j received very encouraging opinions ij from Government beads as to the < practicability of carrying out such a scheme and the suitability of Stratford as a ground for operations. He

concluded by strongly urging those present to do all in their power to further the objects of the Association. Air Hanford supported the remarks of Mr Masters, and, speaking from a farmer’s standpoint, said success depended largely on the breeding and selection of cattle, and that the show ground was the place for the iarmor to go to for the best ideas with regard to stock, and the latest improvements in farming implements and accessories. The speakers received a good hearing and the rally resulted in several present joining the ranks of the Association.

AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTION. The question of contributing towards the cost of an agricultural instructor for Taranaki was mentioned by the Chairman, and a very interesting discussion ensued. After various opinions had been expressed, Mr R. McK Morison moved that the delegate sent to address the meeting he given ,a hearing, to which those present agreed. Mr H. Trimble then addressed the shareholders, and stated that he was a delegate in place of Mr Gray who was at Rahotu addressing another gathering. Air Trimble said he was present to ask the Stratford farmers to assist in paying towards the salary of the agricultural instructor. This officer was a servant of the Education Department; and was doing excellent work, travelling round the district lecturing and advising the farmers as to the best methods of growing special crops and getting the best, possible results for their work. Ho was also conducting classes on agriculture at the Technical School at Xew Plymouth, and though the classes were small at present they were growing rapidly and the students were most enthusiastic. The service could only bo kept going by foes ami contributions. The Technical Board could not carry the burden without outside help. ’ The Government granted a '£ for £ subsidy on all moneys contributed in this connection, and the competitions hold last ymu amongst the farmers’ sons in New Plymouth had been so successful that he felt quite justified in asking the financial support of the meeting, he Instructor would be available loi n local farmers, and bis advice and assistance would be sure to prove invaluable. Mr Morison moved: Unit the Company contribute £2O towards the salary of the instructor lor turn year.—Air Huggett seconded. A lively discussion ensued, opinions j being divided as to the advantages to be gained from the work of the in-

strnctor. One farmer of the “old school was specially against any interference with the old methods, and made a point of interrupting the various speakers. The motion was supported by Messrs Ransford, Were, and Sangster, Huggott, and others, and opposed by Messrs Harris, Milne, and Mcßride. Mr Sangster moved an amendment: That the amount contributed he £.lO instead of £2U. This was seconded by -Mr Silk, and supported by the Chairman, and on being put to the meeting, was carried by 40 votes to 11. BUTT MU FOR “THU BOYS.” Mis S. Hughes, New Plymouth Ladies’ Patriotic Committee, wrote asking for a donation of blitter to send to the front for the benefit of the sick and lighting men. It was decided to leave the matter to the Directors to make such donations as they considered necessary. COMPLIMENTARY. A hearty vote of thanks and appreciation for services rendered was jaccorded to the retiring directors, and acknowledged by Messrs Sangster and Lehmann. A motion of. apreciation of the services of the malinger (Mr McDonald), secretary (Mr W. Pastier), aupd staff, w.'is also carried by acclamation, the Chairman speaking in very high terms of the work done during the past year.

I THE new diukctohate. 1 j The election of Directors reunited ns . follows:—li. Dingle 12, Fhil- ■ lips &), E. ilaiisiurd 31, J • CJ. Faldor lit), H. Watson ‘J!), H. X. Silk 21), F. . Styles 23, %V. McCullough 21, D. . I Blackstock 1!J, .i. Mcßride Id, M. ■ j O’Neill 11, 11. doiinsLim il. Ill" first , four were declared duly elected, and . a fresh ballot was taken us between Messrs Watson and Sd resulting in lie return of the former, the voting being, Mr Watson it), Mr Silk 22. The Chairman, who haul at Jirsi declined to stand for re-election to the directorate, hut had consented to nomination at the unanimous wish oi tne meeting, thanked shareholders lor returning him at the head oi the poll, and stated he would do his lies;; as heretofore to further the interest., ol the Company. 'The remuneration of the chairman was considered hy the meeting, and the sum of fioO for the past year was voted, a farther motion lor a; Vs ar Bonus of £2b being also unanimously agreed to. Mr T. H, Penn was re-elected auditor to the Company. At a subsequent meeting of directors, Mr Dingle was re-appointed chairman.