DAIRY COMPANIES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 59, 30 July 1914, Page 6

DAIRY COMPANIES.

ANNUAL MEETINGS. OKATO AND PUNIHO. There was an attendance of about sixty shareholders at the annual meeting of the Okato-Puniho Dairy Comjiaiiy, which was heid at Okato yesterday. In the absence of Mr. Newton King, Mr. W. .1. Cray was voted to the chair. BEPORT AND BALANCE-SHEET.

The report allowed another successful year, and an increased output, the fol.owing quantities having been received:— Factory, 3,Bo7,otiSlbs milk, 140,8471bs butter-fat. averse test 3.83; l'uniho creamery, 4,293.7301bs milk, 1(i1,9851bs butter-fat, average test 3.77; Leith creamery, 3,50i>,883.1>s milk, 13S,C!)i:bs butter-fat. average teal 3.9j; Oxford creamery, 2,014, Tuulbs milk, 70.924 ibs butter-fat, average tost 3.81; total, 13,G2l,97<ilbs anilk, 6u4,0841b-- butter-fat, average test 3.84. These totals include 74,832. bs of cream received at the t'aeloryand containing 22,(i371bs of butterfat. The butter manufactured amounted to OoO.OOOlbs; the over-run being 19.10 per cent.

After writing oil' £393 8s 7d for depreciation, the prolit and loss account showed a credit balance of £2557 o+, including the balance brought ftrward from last year. The directors recommend that this be allocated as follows: £IOO be written off the Egmont Box Co.s shares; 5 per cent, dividend to shareholder* on amount paid up to 31st „Uay, 1013, which, will absorb £lO4 (is 3d, and a further payment to suppliers of one penny pel lb of butter-fat, absorbing £2275 8 S 9d, leaving a balance to carry forward of £l7 lis Od. Suppliers would then have received £28.000 lis, equal to an average payment of 12.'i pence per lb of butter-fat. Since the balance-sheet was made up a dividend of £2O had been received from the Eg mont Box Company. During the year a number of shareholders on the upper Puniho road had left to supply a proprietary cheese factory, their reason given being the long distance to Puniho creamery.

Quantities and averages compared with season ended May 31st, 10] 3, the latter in parentheses:—Number of supis iers. 0.5 (07). Milk received, 13,G21»970 .lbs (13,130,24311)3); cream received, 74,83211s (44,880lbs); butter-fat, 540,084'.D3 (r>)5.9371b5); butter made. ooO.OOOlks Mlo.7o'olb.s); average test 3.84 per cent. (•'■.B per cent.) ;over-run, 19.19 per cent. (18.37 per cent,); average price nett for buttir, ll.Sld (12.091); cost of manufacture ami putting f.0.b., including all expenses. I.J>!d (1.23 d): average price per lb of butter-fat received by supplier-. 12.;:od (12.54 d); average arade--cxport -won, 93.28 (92.15). hi moving (lie adoption of the reJXH't. tae chairman congratulated suppliers on another successful season. The directors had received splendid reports from the London .merchants, who had .handled theii material. The grades, too. at the freezing works had been very

satisfactory. They were fortunate that the direct.,rs had so'd their output in stead of consigning. The strike caused a loss of £150,000 to the dairy industry, and this would have meant a bis bad th-v consigned, of £IOOO to the company. The suppliers would have to deal that <lav with the quc-Uoti of amalgamation of Oakura. He regretted that some of the suppliers at the southern end had left. The direct' r, wanted them to come back, because it was felt that the 10-s of one supplier wa- a 10-s to the whole company, for the g-catev tile output the les* would be the cost of manipulation. They should, tbcrefer . all elidiavor to increase their supply, lather than to decrease it. Another question that would come before them would be the question of paying interest to non-supplier.-. Personally, lie was opposed to this. Complaints had been made at times regarding the quality of the -milk supplied. This was a matter of vital interest to a'l. If the manager did not receive good material, he could not manufacture go< d butter, ami it would be difficult to dispose of the produce at a satisfactory price. He warned Suppliers against putting preservative in their milk. The butter was tested when it got to America, and if it contained preservative, it was condemned mid not sold. The Americans, he stated, watched every opportunity to "sit on" our produce. Some of the suppliers, he continued, had their miik stands under pinus insigni.- trees, and it would be necessary for them to be removed. In conclusion, he paid a tribute to the good work done bv the manager (Mr. YV. llihbevd) and 'staff, whose loyalty during the strike,, lie added, amidst applause, was- unquestionable. , Mr. O'Su'livan seconded the motion, ■which was unanimously adopted. ELECTION OF DIPECTORS. There were four nominations for the two vacancie., on the directorate, ami the voting resulted as follows:-- I. Wooldridgc 142, W. E. llayloek 134. W. Binnie .134. A. Corhett 70. There being a tie for the second place, lots were drawn, and Mr. llayloek was successful. Mr. Webster was're-elected auditor at a remuneration if £7 7s. The directors were voted a bonus of £2") for their services. Appreciative reference was made to the services of Jhvri O'SuHivan and Green way. retiring directors, and the I shareholder-' appreciation will be noted ii. the minute-book. SECEDING SUPPLIERS'.

The que-tion of the Puniho road suppliers w!io left in the middle of last season to .supply a proprietary cheese factory was discussed. The chairman asked that this should be discussed from a financial and not from a personal point of view. The company had undertaken to sappiv a certain quantity of butter, and iosing supply in the middle of the season might have .meant that they would have to buy supplies to fill their order, lie would like to see those sunpliers come back. If they would not, hj« would like to see a resolution passed pre Tenting the payment of interest to shareholders, the whole of the surplus to be paid out in bonus to suppliers. Otherwise, he said, thev would have a class of idle rich at the factory, in stead of the workers getting all the money. This caused considerable argument, which at times was heated. Mr. liieden ask"d: Why doesn't the Okato company look aftel that country *

An mv.i'ui'iit then .'.-usual between Mr. (Irani iirnl Mr. ISredeu. The oliairiiiiui calV-l the former to order, but H appeared u. make no dill'i-rence. Mr. liiimii- .-lid that though tlicv ■ wre two cil.rr fiii-l i ries on the road, there wore over :>IIIHI acroa on whio-li a lot of cows would vet bo milked. Tli" i,iircctm'. liml not t'aV foresight lo ere:-1 a crca'iicry on tlic road, end ii'-w t-li-.v lil'iini'.l tlic settlors on tbi' road for helping themselves. The settlers cutt'd buy out ill" choose factories at any tine, uml ho advised the Company to puvoluise tl'om before the ,'JO<X) acre- lnontieniMl came into milking.. Mr. (V.Nullivan pointed out that the directors had picked a site for a oreamerv on the road, where there was goad water nowcr, but thin did not sint some of' the Punilio suppliers, who wanted tl« factory at their own door, where, it would have been too close to the upper cheese factory.

I The chairman explained that the com- * psny had certainly made an effort to /eicct a creamery on that road. All colid rot have the creamery where they wanted it. but must be prepared to give way a little, lie pointed out that the settlers on that road submitted to the directors a requisition for a creamery, and had withdrawn it on the ssun.c day, so that lie had come to the conclusion that they were not dealing with stable people. Some tir-.ic ago, too, the company, recognising that the distance was too'great decided to accent home separator cream. That, he thought, would have owrcome the difficulty.

After further pergonal and other argument, Mr. \V. .!. Gray moved that no more interest be pa d on si.are capital, .so that the whole of the profits could br. paid out in bonus. —Mr. Binnie seconded, and it was carried. Mr. Wooldridgc considered that ihe company should take some steps which would prevent suppliers being able '■ leave when they liked. At present all tin company could do was o>" call on non-supplying shareholc ts to at once pay up any unpaid share capita'. This In ' did not consider wc.it far enough.--No action was taken. ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN. At a subsequent meeting if directors. Mi. Newton King was ainointed chair man, and Mr. W.' J. Gray deputy-chair-man.