DRIED MILK INDUSTRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 July 1918, Page 5

DRIED MILK INDUSTRY.

MEETING AT MANGATOKI. IN TEKESTING STATEMENTS. A meeting of shareholders of the Mangatoki Co-operative Dairy Co. was held on Monday afternoon, .Mr. Jacob Marx, chairman of directors, presiding. * The chairman explained that this meeting was called by him to informally discuss and chat over the present dried milk question, not only in regard to its present position, but also its future prospects. He believed that co-operative company chairmen and directors should keep closely in touch with their'shareholders and inform them from time to time on all matters that concerned them. The directors of the Mangatoki Company had not overlooked this dried milk question; on the contrary, for months past they had been endeavoring to gain all the information possible. Subject to confirmation he and Mr. Powdrell had offered to share the expenses of the men the three Waikato companies had sent to America, in order to grip, the benefit of the information they mght secure. They would have noticed from newspaper reports that the Minister for Agriculture was averse to dairy companies embarking upon the dried milk business, and had informed one company that contemplated going in for it that they would first have to get the consent of the Government before they could expend over £3OOO. If, however, it could be shown that the manufacture of sugar of milk or dried milk was going to be a paying proposition, he did not see how the Government could allow a proprietary rw-«?rn to spend £OO,OOO or £70,000 in buildings and plant in Waikato, and at the same time refuse permission to co-operative companies to do so. He believed that the dried milk business had come to stay, and under the new spraying system the milk did not come into contact with metal, and this produced a much better keeping article than under the aid system patented fifteen yean ago. Prior to the war there were some twenty proprietary factories in America manufacturing dried milk, and they were paying out up to 4s per lb butterfat. Sinoe the war that prioe had to be reduced, owing to shipping. If dried milk, in the future, was going to supply the whole or part of the milk required for town consumption it had a future. And with dried milk they had to consider sugar of milk.

There was no idea of scrapping all their splendid cheese and butter plants, but as soon as possible their cheese factories should incorporate sugar of milk manufacture. In the case of the Mangatoki factory, the calculating 2 per cent, return on new milk, it would mean £24,000 at a very moderate estimate in addition to their output of cheese. In the case of butter factories it was essential that all butterfat should be taken out of the milk before it was subjected to the drying process. Consequently there would be no decrease in their output of butter. The dried milk could then be stored in 2ewt. barrels in any ordinary storage; not necessarily at the temperature that butter and cheese had to be kept in. Dried milk and BUgar of milk, it would be seen, were made from by-products that now went to feeding pigs and calves. Prom the information they had it appeared that in the manufacture of sugar of milk whey would be treated at the various factories up to a certain point, and then sent to one central refining factory to be finished off. One such central factory would suffice for South Taranaki, and one for North Taranaki, or perhaps one would do for the whole of Taranaki. In discussing the matter at the Employers* Association meeting recently, it was decided that the chairman or one representative from each dairy company in Taranaki should meet shortly, and they would then probably appoint a pommittee with power to get all possible' information. The main question before companies just now was the question of finance, when considering either dried milk or sugar of milk. Both would be costly installations.

For sugar of milk it would be even more costly. In the present circumstances they could not expect tie banks to assist to the same extent as in the past, and for each company to find £25,000 or £30,000 would be a big undertaking. Centralisation would assist this largely, and they would have to be prepared to repay the capital outlay in two years by deductions from the pay out. It might be argued that it would be unfair to make present-day suppliers find all this money for the benefit of those who would be coming after, and no doubt some provision would have to be made to meet that objection. A lot of people had very little faith in dried milk; they believed it was largely a war article boomed under war conditions. Others, again, believed otherwise, and the American people told the delegates who recently went over there that they had nothing to fear if the whole of New Zealand went in for dried milk; it would all be absorbed. In every town each I year the supply of milk was becoming' more difficult. The Board of Trade had fixed the price at which fresh milk had to be supplied; they held, and rightly so, that it was necessary for children, and they wanted children to have it, but the difficulty was to make a man supply an article, at" a fixed price, that he could not see his way profitably to do so. He will go somewhere else. That position would be largely relieved if the dried milk process superseded the present system of delivery. He (the chairman) would recommend to his directors at their next meeting that Mangatoki joins with other companies in .incurring whatever expense is considered necessary to get the fullest and most reliable information. He might, mention, in regard to the future of cheese, that the National Dairy Association had just sent out the following circular: "We have just received the following cable from Mr. Elleson: 'Recommend factories to make cheese. Prices will rule high for some years.'" In reply to a question," the chairman said that his calculations in regard to sugar of milk were based on pre-war prices. The prices TUling to-day were double that, and on present price* it would mean, an addition of Is per ib butterfat. His idea, however, was to figure on Is per lb, and on that basis £250,000 worth of by-products were being fed to pigs and calves that were not worth one-tenth of that amount. If they embarked upon either one of these projects they must have the very best plant and the most expert men that could be got. In the south they were carting whey long distances in motor waggons, and although they had not anything like the roads they had in Taranaki, and notwithstanding the fact that they had to scrap £30,000 worth of plant, they were now doing well, So far as Taranaki was concerned, his own opinion was that an amalgamation should be arranged; that two or three factories in] Taranaki most conveniently situated for) 'fte-gggte of ooalj efe, might gtus. on

dried milk. Ten or twenty per cent.' of the milk supplied, that most eonveni- \ ent and most easily got to the factory, could be treated, ao that there would ! be no unnecessary ovcihipping on i]<p roads. All the factories in the amalgamation would share in the project, and all would be on an equal footing from the start. It had been reported • that already proprietary concerns had been promised support in the district ■ if they would commence operations. He , could not imagine farmers thinking of doing such a • thing, i The co-operative companies were in a position to go in for any new enterprise that was bound, and to give the farmer everything there • was in it, and the man who thought that he was going to get more than there was in a thing was a fool. The average proprietary concern was not going to give away more than there was in it. Mr. Perry raised the question as to the possibility of the Government com- . mandeering BUgar of milk. The chairman briefly referred, in reply, to the history of the butterfat levy, and more recently the fixing of the export price for butter and cheese. When fixing the levy a request was made to include dried milk, but it was not done, nor had they seen any regulations regarding the export price of . Glaxo. The Waikato people •were un '- against that; hence they were compelled to move in self-defence. The '-.- position had to be faced in Taianaki, ■ and if. it could be shown that these pro- ,' positions would mean another Od per lb .' of fat, the Government should assist ' them; they dare not continue to oppose them.

Mr. Astbury asked whether it would i" be necessary to send to Amerigo, when 1(1 already men had been sent there*-who lr had the information, and this Mbnna,e tion would probably be accessible-tojany, w combination of companies if they 'vrare ; - prepared to pay for it. >• The chairman replied that part of the ■>• business of the conference would be'-to n set up a committee, who, atmliSess, , would endeavor to come to some ar- ,_ rangement with the three-Waikato-<s&m- - 0 panies who sent their men to America. ,j With regard to the sugar of milk" they r may have to cable to the factory arepre- , sentative, who was still in the States, to e secure that information; But until the a various companies met, they had no ore ganisetioa to carry out these detail* t. In reply to n question, the chairman >• thought that if the propositions proved ; > feasible, the sugar of milk would assist e cheese factories, and dried milk made ! from skim milk would go with tetter factories. If they took 20 per eent-of their milk for dried milk, they would U still have £200,000 from sugar of milk ■ () at Is per lb for Taranaki alone. They ,| must, however, work to a general phvnj 15 and try to get unanimity in their opera- . tions covering the dairying country of r Taranaki. ' i Mr. Mills remarked that had proe ducers received the market .price rei. ceived for the condemned cheese nwn--8 tioned right through on all their dripB ments, it would have meant Is 3d'per lb butter-fat extra. The chairman, commenting on existc lng conditions, remarked that it was j useless comparing the returns of one t company with another. They were the B victims of circumstances. Last year r several boats got away before a contract B was, finally fixed up with the Govern- > inent, and he might mention that it took - exactly three months and a day before i a reply was received from the Imperial r authorities. The shipments that had i in the meantime gone forward realised > open-market prices approximately, and they represented 5d per lb bntter-fat in--1 crease over the fixed price. ■ Mr. Mills, representing the Hawera Dairy Company, remarked that he took , it that the first aim of company directors was to endeavor to make it quife . plain that they fully realised the pre- , sent position, and so induce supplies to . , see how foolish it would be for them to imagine that they would have to get into communication with proprietary i companies, as some people up New Ply-' i mouth way had done. He read that 1 some small companies up there had call-* » ed a meeting of suppliers the other dav, and commenced by saying that they had 1 been in communication with proprietary ' companies interested in the dried milk question with a view to endeavoring to get them to start a foetory in the district- It would be a sad stato of affairs if farmers down this end entertained any such ideas. A voice: They are doing it now. Mr. Milk, continuing, said it would be a mistake for directors to rush headlong into this thing just because they had seen it reported that there was 5a Od per lb butter-fat in it. There migfij fce that if they could get "it. Supposing they went in for dried milk, and manu° factured a lot of it. what was to become of it? They could not now ship any- ! thing excepting that which the Home Government required, and it was useless manufacturing a lot of it unless they ' could dispose of it. Even supposing , they could ship it. their market? were '-' now restricted, and the American mar- " >et was closed. He did not wish it interred that he did not think there was "J nothing in dried milk, but he was pleased ' to hear Mr. Marx advising caution. As ' to the objection that the manufacture of • sugar of milk or tfriej milk wotili is ; prive the farmer of his.whey for feed- * ing his calves, Mr. Mills thought that' A that would be rather a good thing. Tljs >:' farmer would then roar only so many calves as he required to replenish hi'< \ herd; and that would be an excellent •'- thins for the district gcnera!lv. Ho would rear calves from hi? verv best '; cows only. The chairman thought (hat no one "' would suggest scrapping the cheese '. plants in Taranaki. Their present outputs would hardly be disturbed If they >i adopted the method he suggested. J Sugar of milk went into a very Bmall I compass, and a part cargo on me ship Jj would take all they would nmnufacturejj The Government had impressed upon fai'-'JS mors to keep up production and quality SH but they had taken their skilled mensf! away. This could not be avoided; moya must go to fight, but it was hardly ooni' : '3§ sistent to expect farmers to keep up'.-ij production and quality with their. <&*' M perts absent. When the war ceasa&Sj there would be a world famine, and tions would rtill be hungry when alku| New Zealand's produce bad been seotj*jj Home. " '•; Jf Mr. Astbury moved that the director* ';g of the company assist in gaining thj-''} fullest information regarding the maim; ■'?, facture of dried milk, sugar of milk, and '/$ allied products. In the course of hnf-'-v; remarks, he severely criticised the Gov-O ernment's action in allowing propric- v } tary concerns, who were outbidding en- -_ "' operative companies by 2d per lb, a market, practically, for their products, instead of placing them on the same ' ; basis as butter and cheeso factories. In'.' \ self-defence, co-operative companies now S