DAIRY COMPANIES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 93, 5 September 1912, Page 7

DAIRY COMPANIES.

WAITARA COMPANY. ANNUAL MEETING. The fourteenth annual meeting of suppliers to the Waitara Dairy Company was held at the factory, Waitara road, yesterday afternoon. Mr. J. H. Smith "(chairman of directors) presided over an attendance of some fifty suppliers. The annual report noted that the year had again been a successful one. The number of suppliers increased, as. also did the milk supply, with a corresponding increase in butter. The output was sold, and although, in some cases, consignments reached a higher value, owing to the abnormal season at Home, the directors considered that the straight out price received was sufficient to warrant their action. The amount of milk supplied was 0.234,0211b, yielding 274,104 lb butter-fat. from which 321,0251b of commercial butter were made. The average test was 4.30, and it took 10.01b milk to make a pound of butter, t The over-run was IV/ 2 . The price received by shareholders after payment of the balance will have, amounted to 12.4 per lb of butter-fat. Messrs. J. H. Smith and A. Fulton retired by rotation, and were eligible for .re-election. It would also be necessary to appoint a* director in the place of Mr. L. G. Andrews, who had retired., Messrs. Percival and Messenger again offered their services as auditors. The balance-sheet showed that in the working account receipts had been: Butter £15,035 10s 2d. buttermilk £sl 10s. stock and material £204 7s, a total of £15,032 5s 2d. On the expenditure side £12,478 17s 2d had been advanced to suppliers, wages accounted for £450 Is Bd, butter boxes £334 8» 3d, interest £OO 5s lid, expenses £758 8s 3d, chairman's honorarium £lO, directors' fees £0 ss. There was a balance of £IOBO 3s Id, which it was proposed to allot to suppliers in a further payment of 1.47 d per lb on butter-fat supplied. The chairman, in moving the adoption of the annual report,, congratulated suppliers on the working during the past season, As it was only an eleven months' season, exact- comparison could not be made with the previous season, but it wafa interesting to note that during the previous twelve months 300,5871b of butter were produced, as against 321,0251b produced during the present eleven months, showing an increase of 13 tons 7cwt 61b. The average test had been 4.30; it took 10.01b of milk to make lib of butter, and the over-r,m had been 17y 2 P er cer >t- It cost 1.33 d to produce lib of butter, and the average price paid to suppliers aftfir paying out a bonus of 1.47 d would ba 12.4 d per lb, all of which should be considered satisfactory, Twenty-seven new shares had been allotted, upon which 2s was paid. The overdraft was now only £340 7s lid, whilst three years ago it was £BSO 13s lid. The company hold? 27 sl:nres in the Freezing Works, and £S2 I7s fid had been allocated by that company up to June 30, 1010. as vofits; since then a call of £27 had been rT.de. making a total payment of £IOO 17s Od, and in future profits would be paid as interest on share capital. Criticising the expenditure side of the balance-sheet he pointed out that there showed a reduction of £2lO 10s sd. The fuel account showed. Creamery £37 Ss Sd, and factory £IOO 18s 10d," and in view of any contingencies a stock of fifty tons of coal Was to be kept in hand. The question of pasteurisation of the cream had been considered, hut to do this it would be necessary to instal a new boiler, and as, moreover.:' the butter turned out was now of very hish quality, and in support he read letters from Home buyers eulogising the company's butter, it had not been deemed advisable as yet to instal pasteurisers. Referring to the division of the surplus among suppliers, he stated that in the past it had been invariably the practice to pay out by ready reckoner, calculated to the nearest one-sixteenth of a pennv. This year the secretary had calculated it out to the minutest fraction, and each supplier would receive a further 1.47 d on each lb of butter-fat. The prospects for the coming season wore particularly bright. They had appointed Messrs. Joseph Nathan and Co. agents for the disposal of their butter, at a guaranteed minimum price of' Is for salted, and i2'/,d for unsaltcd (net). They held that a firm like the above would know better just when to dispose of the butter than any ordinary farmer could be expected to. He then formally moved its adoption, which was seconded bv Mr. 11. Turnbull.

On Wins: thrown open to discussion, several matters were introduced, the majority of which, 'however, dealt with previous balance-sheets, and not the present. Mr. I!. Turiibull bad understood the chairman to sav last year that they were paying out the merest fraction over Is per lb. On working out hifi bonus on that basis he found it was £3 or £4 short, and >on enquiring at tire office was told" that the, payment only amounted to 11 2-3<l. "Whv. he wanted io know, was such a misleading statement made? The chairman resented the imputation. Tfe bad not made the definite assertion. In reply to enquiries be stated that for the winter supply in May'they hid received • for local butter Is l%d (less V-d). and the surplus for export realised 12VI-tl- Tn paving out Is for the winter butter they had not paid too much. Some discussion ensued over the amount (Is) paid out to winter suppliers, who, it was alleged, were getting double bonus by being advanced more than the summer suppliers. Tt was pointed out that the winter butter was desirable to keep the local trade, and they wanted to encourage winter supplv. In the summer time they paid suppliers up to witliin V,d of the price received, and in the winter to within y,d. i Tn both cases the rest went towards the bonus. Mr. Paton thought that a debit and credit statement of butter manufactured and disposed of bv sale And to employees should be printed -with the report. Tt was then elicited that the factory manager and creamery manager received (wo pounds of butter per week each, and I : he assistant one pound. The secretary received no butter, but -a cash payment of ClO per annum instead. The increase of £A per month in tip wi_(s account can (d nun uh n comment. This, however, drew from tin (hi mi in tb mi ul tint +hn h id i i (i(iid tli( man i i i l I ml s t id i ] inn i \ in >i igi is stliip rj lM , \ i I < uh in i«iiitluui with tlit ( ib i ul miltid b\ Hi l)m\ I utoi \ 1 n lhi\( 1 Mioii now dtfund I hi u tu t )i lining onh l << \ d L! ii veil indwistlu \ oi sf pud ni th i tiift c \< n T i ppei ton vniTnioK Hun nonoMi tliM hid to kiep Ibrn ns is( nil i month lonaii to cope with tin "Nc i lb Tinn >1 i cieiin Ah i iiinliu l ! dnw iftcntion to the fut tint i infiu it the Vi < t f ( t Teisi ( onimis ion hid stated tint the ficlou agisted him to get his cows A foimci diu.rt.o7 CM-dnmcl +.W ,+ ,„„„

merely a private guarantee by some of I the. directors. Mr. Barleyman asked why they did not belong to the Box Company and so save about 2d per box. • The chairman .said that at the time the Box Company was formed their finances were not strong enough, and now the premium was too high. ( After further desultory discussion the report was adopted. For the three vacancies on the directorate there were five candidates. MessrsJ. Tuck and Jennins were appointed scrutineers. The election resulted: Messrs. A. Fulton 110, J. H. Smith 05, F. Loveridge. (50 (elected), R. Thomas 48, and Geo. Mackie 47. For auditor Messrs. Pcrcival and Messenger and H. Baily were nominated, and the former were re-appointed. The directors'' remuneration was increased to 7s 0d per meeting, and the chairman's honorarium to £ls per an-r num. Mr. J. B. Paton then brought forward his notice of motion re'cheese, and in,] the course of an interesting dissertation i urged on suppliers the necessity of investigating the benefits of cheese. He J pointed out that the highest price paid I out by cheese factories was Parkvalc.j Is 4d' l-10d, Kaupokonui 1 3%. down I to Is Id for the lowest. The highest paid by a butter factory was Taitapn Is Id," Thames Valley l ¥ 2%d, down to the lowest, lid. Therefore, there was a i preference of 3d in favor of cheese. Now, on their output of 274,1941b, 3d per lb meant £3427, and 2d' per lb £2284. Now, a cheese plant could he installed for approximately £2OOO, and the extra cost of manufacture would be £3OO or £350 per annum. So that in one year they could pay for the plant and have a surplus of about £IOOO or £llOO. In. cheese, too, there were by-products. Whey butter was not new, and paid I for the making. Then there was sugar 1 of milk, and when he told them there was more sugar than fat in the milk they would see that it was too valuable to feed to pigs. A casein and sugar of i milk plant would cost £7500, and ap- j proximately their, output contained 400.00011) of sugar, which, at the low j estimate of 4d. would realise £fi(i(ii). These figures certainly were worth investigating. It meant that - the increase in a herd of 30 cows of 2501b fat at 3d represented £O3, and if the cows averaged 3001b it moms £ll2. Tut these figure* against pins and calves. He moved that a committee, consisting of the directors, he appointed to investigate the question of cheese suld sugar of milk plants. This was seconded by Mr. ] Free and carried. The question of pasteurising the cream was introduced by Mr. R. Turnbull, who moved that it be an instruction to the directors to instal pasteurisers. He •laid that if the quality of the butter did not improve it would give suppliers a wider range of feed. He was thinking of experimenting with chou mollier, which would not affect the milk, with judicious feeding, but if no pasteuriser was installed he would not care to risk having batches of milk sent back. The feed range was far too limited. Farmers were forced into intensive farming, and yet because the factory was so out" of date they could not make the best use of their land. It would pay handsomely to instal a pasteuriser] The finances were so good thafr suppliers would not ' feel the strain, as it could be done out of the %d per lb butter-fat deducted. Moreover, their butter, despite anything t" the contrary, would demand a better local sale. Mr. Nieoll seconded. The chairman said that the directors were not averse to installing a pasteuriser. They only needed some intimation from the meeting. But even a pasteuriser would not overcome the effects of injudicious feeding. The resolution, on being put, was lost \>y 13 to 8, many having"left on receiving their bonus. Mr. Turnbull brought up the question of eovered-in stands. He was afraid that a 'ot of rain water sometimes found its way into the cans from uncovered stands. Though the majority were in accord with the necessity for covered stands, no action was taken. Votes of thanks to the directors, stall and press concluded the meeting. At a meetino- of directors held afterwards Mr. J. H. Smith was re-elected I chairman.