FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 40, 12 March 1909, Page 2

FARM AND DAIRY.

CHEESE AND BUTTER. iMr. Gwillim, Government grader of dairy produce, gives the following comparlson between the profits obtained by butter awl cheese manufacture tjvely:The average value of butter for tho past five years is 108s Id per cwt. If wo deduct 10s 6d per cwt for the freight Home and the selling charges then it is equal to 97s 7d on hoard steamer at our whipping port—eay lOd ,per lb. What does that mean net for buttcr-fat to the milk-supplier? Npw, with 1121b o't butter being made from 1001b of butter-fat in the whole milk, and butter worth I Oil per lb, one pound of buttcr-fat is worth ll%d. Taking the butter-making business as a whole. T may put the f.o.b.

cost of making at cquai to l%d per lb o'f buttcr-fat. Deduct this from ll%d, and the net return is for butter-fat lOd per lb.

The average of the selling prices of chew*! is 57s 5d per cwt. The expenses for freight Home ami selling charges there may lie put at 8s per cwt, which is equal to 40s 3d on hoard the Home steamer here—say 5d per lb. AVitli 2501b of cheese mack irom !001b of lmtter-fat. one pound of butter-fat is 'worth 13'/,d. Say the f.o.b. cost of ■maki'ng cheese is 2d jier lb butter-fat,

and we have a net return for buttcr-fat of liy B d. Now, if the milk-supplier reiquircH one penny per lit more for his butter-fat when, supplying a cheese factory—.well, if y«u will, say iy s d—my contention tha't butter-making a'.ul chcescmaking are equally good is demonstrated. If any further pvooi is necessary. I I'onlcl quote you tin- net returns tor the past sewn or eiglii years of a butter factory and chewe* factory both working (til good lines. The net results are that the cheese factory lias paid out just about one .pennv more than the butter factory. And T think I can fairly say the butter factory suppliers have quite made up the difference in the profit derived from the skim milk. ■ - The Elttmm Dairy Company made 204.33411) of butter in February, and will pay out CSSIIS for buttcr-fat, this being at the rale of 11 1 /, d per lb. The average test for tiie mouth was 3.70. South Taranaki is very much in 'need of a heavy downpour of rain, nnd the position becomes more acute daily. Not only are many tanks which supply water for domestic purposes, and for use about

the milking-sheds, empty (anil this posi tion introduces many trying experiences to a farming community), but creeks me now drying up rapidly and furtlici inconvenience for the farmer must fol

low. A creek recently pointed out ( Ihe writer, which bad run for the pas

:!0 years, lias now' dried up. Another aspect of the. dry period is that on several farmsband-milking has had to be

reverted to, owing to the. insufficient water supply for running the machines. Tlie rich pasture lands in the district are in fair condition at present, the

worst effects of tlie drought being near the coast; inland tlie heavy dews prove of great value. Dairy cows are now "drying off" much more rapidly than is usual at this time of tile year.—Star.