DAIRYING INDUSTRY’S INCREASED OUTPUT

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 134, 27 August 1927, Page 12

DAIRYING INDUSTRY’S INCREASED OUTPUT

REVIEW OF SEASON REPORT BY BOARD Press Association. WELLINGTON, Friday. The third annual report of the New Zealand Dairy Produce Board states that substantial increases in production are revealed by the season’s completed grading records. Butter increased by 14.6 per cent, and cheese 2.9 per cent., giving a seasonal increase on a butter-fat basis of 10.47 per cent. The favourable season, especially in the Auckland Province, had been largely responsible for this, together with the increased use of fertilisers for top-dressing and the increasing adoption of systems of herd-testing, leading to the elimination of unprofitable cows. With the withdrawal of the board’s original policy of pooling, which enabled a fixed quality premium to be guaranteed, fears had been expressed that relinquished efforts will result in a retrogression. To guard against this the board would endeavour to see that no groupings are made of different qualities when sales are made by agents, and that the return for each quality is separately given on the account sale, thus securing to each factory the quality premium the market yields for their goods. The total quantity of produce shipped during the year by the joint shipping companies to Great Britain and North America, stated the report, was: Butter, 2,536,561 boxes; cheese, 1,065,378 crates. It was interesting to recall that when the board was established freight rates were 4s 6d a box for butter and Id a lb. for cheese. Under the two succeeding contracts that had been made rates had been reduced to 4s a box for butter, less Th per cent., thus saving 9 3-5 d a box. For cheese the rate was 7-3 d less 7£ per cent., a saving of 2s 3d a crate. The freight saving thus effected on the quantities shipped this year amounted to £101,454 on butter and £142,450 on cheese, a total of £243,904. Approximately £78,000 was paid in insurance premiums during the year. As nothing beyond , minor losses had been experienced, a further premium reduction had been secured of Id on butter and 7d on cheese and 3d on local risks. The new rates would therefore be: Butter, 7s 3d; cheese, 9s 3d; local, Is 3d. These reductions would represent a further gain of fully £2,500, compared with last season’s rates. This was secured as a result of the appointment of an officer in London to supervise discharging and cold storage. This saving would pay the cost of the supervision nearly four-fold and do immeasurable good in the preservation of quality.