THE DAIRY INDUSTRY

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 61, 21 October 1907, Page 4

THE DAIRY INDUSTRY

TIIE DKPAIi i'MliN'T'S ANNUAL REPORT. The annual report of the dairy in* du.iirv unbodied iu I lit; report of the Department of Agriculture states llmfc from tin 1 producers' point of view the season which ended oil .March ;j 1.-st, 1007. was one of the most successful experienced since the inception of the industry. So lar as the Xortli Island is concerned the rainfall throughout the summer was nuiiioieut to maintain a plentiful supply of grass, which resulted iu tbsj deli eery of more milk to the butler and clii'i'fio factories » In the South Island the weather conditions weve not lavorable. A ,-omowlial lengthy spell of dry weather was experienced during the summer, more particularly iu the Canterbury, North Otag>, and Central i*tngo districts, l'eed became scarce to- . wards the middle of the .season, and in some instances the supply of drinking water gave out. Kurther south the effect of the drought was not felt to any great extent, although a considerable cheek iu the growth of foods for took place. The st-ason opened well as regards both the quantity of butter and cheese manufactured and the prices oiiVred. In fact, higher prices were paid for the season's output of butter and chee./.than ever before. A- UMial the majority of i!;*j duiry decided to sell their iiiake nf imiter from September to the <■!!;( nf M.irclt ir.-iead of consi'jn'ng tln'ir nn-duce to lii: 1 Home markets for disjhissil by th<-ir agenis at the ruling market rates. There was keen competition among the buyers in this country, but the prices reali- d by the purchasers of a porl ion of the butter were irui'-h lower than were expected,and the losses made in this connection will, the report states, influence forward sales nt the opening of the next butter season. Owing to the lower prices now ruling on the r.ritish markets, large quantities are being held in the colony, and, as the local markets cannot absorb any . larger quantity than usual, it will be necessary to ship some of this produce homo later on. This is to be regretted, as past experience lias proved that the placing of stored butter on the market has a tendency to reduce prices and to maintain lower values for some considerable time. The most noticeable feature in connection with the year's hu-iness has been the remarkable increase iu the production of cheese Nineteen new cheese factories were started during the year, and some of the dairy companies and factory proprietors who were formerly making Imtter turned their attention to the manufacture of cheese. This movement was mainly brought about by the liigh prices ruling, which enabled the producer to obtain from 2d to 3d per lb more for butter-fat in tin* milk {gr cheese-making than for butter-making. At present there is a great deal of unrest amongst the milk suppliers at the number of the butter factories, and pressure is being brought on the directors to change from butter-making to cheese* making. Some have already decided on this course, so the production of cheese is likely to show even a greater increase jiext year. The total quantity of clioese exported for the year amounted to 176,370cwt. —nil increase of sf».Oo7ewt compared with last year. The export of butter decreased by 4S4ficwt. A large ■ increase in Imtter production took place ( in Auckland. The value of the butter and cheese exported amounted to C2;2i4:2i(i. 'lhe total increases in the number of factories for the year were as follows: Creameries fi, factories (cheese) 10, private dairies (butter) S:k private factories (cheese) 3. packing houses 10; tota! # 121. '