N.Z. DAIRY ASSOCIATION

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 117, 25 August 1910, Page 5

N.Z. DAIRY ASSOCIATION

SUCCESSFUL OPERATIONS. "THE PARMER: GOD BLESS HIM." By Telegraph.—Press Association. Ancklandi Last Night. The annual meeting of shareholders in the New Zealand Dairy Association was held this afternoon,; when tue cwtfrman of directors (Mr. Wesley 'Spragg) presided. In moving the adoption of the report and balance-sheet, Mr. Spragg said the company was quite out of debt, no lien of any kind now remaining upon any of its property. They contracted to pay off the debt in a given time, and had done so a year aneau of the time allowed. The book siatewent of the value of the property was £56,-1 547, after an allowance of £a2,«7» for maintenance had been made. During the nine years since the company was first started the sum of £19,299 had also been written off for uepieciation. During the same period no account was taken of appreciation in the value of the real estate of* the company, which, in sympathy with the general improvement in land values, was very considerable. Another satisfactory feature disclosed by the report was the increase of the output and the natural result of reduction in the cost of produetion. The manufacture of butter for the past year was 5,305,8981b5, which represented an increase fqr the year of 1.,193,9431b5, or in larger terms, they had whs year manufactured an extra 533 tons at an additional cost of 5.71, per cent, only, a saving of £7270 or nearly %d per.lb upon the whole of the season's butterjfat. That was important as indicating the possibilities § of the future. He be-, lieved the time 'had arrived for a wide sweeping effort to secure in one cooperative enterprise all the districts which lay naturally within one co-opera-tive area. Their own Association, operated in 66 separate districts. In the middle. of this province, mixed up with these and'overlapping and fighting one against the other, were a number of other co-operative companies,, which,' | with their own, were wasting money [which would otherwise be available for l the farmers. He thought the time had i arrived when an effort should be made I to gather the co-operative companies, l as well as the several proprietory businesses in the district, into a truly cooperative company. j Continuing, Mr. Spragg said: "The Dominion' is ,at present* in a distinctly prosperous condition. When that is the case with., the' country, the politicians are apt to consider themselves respon- 1 sible for it. The foundation man ol *ny state, the man who startsi underneath and gives it its essential elementary 'basis, is the man who produces it* food stuffs, the farmer. v If !t were for i courtesies, which may be it is well for us to observe, tie first toast to be honoured at any festivity would, be-, cause he is the foundation nutvn, oe:; 'The farmer, God, bless him.'" f