STRATFORD FARMERS' COMPANY.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 July 1919, Page 3

STRATFORD FARMERS' COMPANY.

ANNUAL MEETING. I The Rnnnal meeting of the Stratford Farmers' Co-operative Association, Ltd., was held in the Town Hall yesterday. There was an attendance of about 80, and Mr. V. Ranford presided. The quantity of whev butter made was 57,4G41b (10 tons 14 cwt. 2 qr.); total butter made was 274 tons 12 cwt. 0 qr. 17 lb, and cheese 728 tons 15 cwt. 1 qr. The number of suppliers was 223. The butter working account shows a balance of £BIOO lis. A further payment of 3£d per lb butter-fat for the year was paid on July 17, absorbing £BOO4 12s lid, leaving a surplus of £OS IBs Id to be carried forward. This will bring the average paid for butter-fat for the year to lfl.lld per lb. Some farther payments are expected from the equalisation fund. The cheese working accounts show the following balances: Stratford £BOS4 17s lid, Toko £5105 3s lid, Huingii £40:51 18s. A further payment of 4d per lb butter-fat for the year was paid on July 17, absorbing: Stratford £SIOO ss, Toko £3IOO lis sd, Huinga £2404 12s 6d. The balances will be distributed as surpluses come to hand when charges, etc., will have been finally adjusted. The probable pay-out will be: Stratford 23.35 d ; per lb, Toko and Huinga 23.65 d per lb. j It has been decided to join the scheme for obtaining - all information from abroad regarding dried milk, milk sugar, casein, etc. On" March 20 Mr. E. Dingle resigned the chairmanship, and Mr. F. ) Ranford was appointed in his 'stead. Mr. Dingle agreed to rema,in on the board till the end of the financial year. Mr. Dingle has been a uember of the board for the past' eighteen years, and has been chairman continuously for sixteen years. The directors desire to place on record their high appreciation of the valuable services rendered by Mr. Dingle to the com-', panv. During the year Mr. J. M. R. Lochhead resigned, and Mr. W. H. Were was appointed to fill the vacancy until the annual meeting. The retiring directors are Messrs R. Dingle, M. Phillips, and F. Ranford. Messrs Dingle and Phillips do not seek re-election. Members will also be asked to fill the vacancies caused by the resignations of Messrs H. N. Silk and J. M. R. Lochhead. Mr. T. [I. Penn again •offers his services as auditor. The chairman said it would be remembered that at the last anual meeting the chairman of directors (Mr. Dingle) anounced his intention of resigning," but at the subsequent meeting of directors he was prevailed upon to reconsider, and he consented'to ramain in office till January 20 last, at which date he (Mr. Ranford") had the honor of being elected to the position. It was thought at one time that the war, among other things, was going to deprive them of the services of their secretary (Mr. W. Fastier), but, fornnately, it had not been necessary for him to go. Had it not been for Mr. Fasticr's ability they would not have such a clear and satisfaatory statement as they had before .them in the balance sheet that day. Dealing with the report, the chairman said that for the year 1917-18 33,360,512 lbs of milk had beewreceived, as against 28,085,032 lbs for the past yenr—a decrease of 5,281,479 lbs, In 1917-18 the butterfat ,■ totalled 1,341,248 lbs, as against 1,158,012 lbs for the year 191819—a decrease of 183,230 lbs. Though the decrease had been very considerable, the turnover had been greater than ever, and, in round figures, now amounted to £130,000. (Applause.) The falling away in production was due to many causes. Last season Robson Road factory was manufacturing for a part of (he" time, but they had had nothing fro~i that source this year. The season had been one of the worst experienced. There had been a great deal of rain and a shortage of feed. Another reason was to be found in the. drain on the country's manhood owing to the demands of the war. Then the epidemic came in the flush of the season, as a result of which many herds were so nfeglected that they did not recover* during the whole season. Proceeding, the chairman said that, the need for better production and more improved methods was never greater. He would like to say before going further a word in appreciation of Mr. McDonald, the mannger, and his staff for the way in which the factories had been kept going* during the war, and had, at the same time, sent help to the suppliers. In last year's balance sheet reference had been made to expected payments from the Imperial Government. These had since come to hand, and had been duly paid out to shareholders. The prices paid for the present and the coming season were as follows: Butter, first grade, 181s; cheese, first grade, IOJd, second grade lOld; whey butter, first, grade, 162s 4d (2d less 'than creamery butter), second grade 157s Bd. One condition that was very unsatisfactory was that which made it necessary to contribute 2Jd per )b on butter to the equalisation fund. It was most unfair that one section of the community should be taxed in order that another sedtion should be able to obtain their butter at 2Jd per lb cheaper than the actual cost of production; for, according to Mr. Cuddy, the Government dairy expert, it cost Is 7y 2 d per lh to produce butter at the present time. They had registered their protest as often as they could, and had sent deputations to the Acting Prime Miniscr, the Hon. Mac Donald, and the Minister' for Lands (Mr. Guthrie), and had laid their case before them, with, he was sorry to say, only negative results. They intended to press the matter further, and were preparing to send a monster deputation to the leaders of the House on their return. It no satisfaction could be obtained this way it would be their duty to,ta"kc the matter to the floor of the House by means of a petition, which they would all be asked to sign. It had been stated by a representative of a Whangarei factory that of 400 Suppliers to his factory not more than 10 were*receiving over £IOO a year. He was sure that they would have the support of Labor in the efforts they were making to have the money for the equalisation fund taken from the consolidated revenue.

Coming to the question of increased production from the dairying industry, Mr. Ranford said they were bearing the cost pro rata with other factories of sending delegates to America with a view to investigating the processes for manufacturing dried milk, casein, and other products. They had heard a lot about dried milk, which had no doubt been responsible for the boom in land in some districts. The Waikato factories had sent delegates to America, and as a result of their investigations they had started in the dried milk business. Their own directors had made investigations, and had found that they would have to pay heavy royalties, principally on machinery, and it was considered that further inquiries were necessary Jjefoie starting. Messrs Fonytk «*l

Murdoch had been sent to make tuller investigations, both in England, and America. If more was to be made by manufacturing dried milk,, etc,, the directors were out to get it. Referring ,to the cost of production, the chairman said that at the beginning of the season notifications haa" been sent to the creameries re the increased cost of running. They had adopted a standard of cost, and creameries must either keep within the limit or bear the extra, cost themselves. The cost f(* the different creameries for 1018-10 at 1000 gallons was as follows: Skinner Hoad 21s, Gordon Road 21s Id, Douglas 33s 7d, Makuri 50s, Huiakaina 40s Id. The cost per lb was: Skinner Road .040, Gordon Road —, Douglas 1.084, Makuri 1.43G, and Huinkama 1.25. They would see tha,t the standard was necessary as far as cheese was concerned. During the year»the Douglas factory had turned from the manufacture of butter to cheese, and, had it not been for the bad weather and railway restrictions, would have opened early this year. He had been in communication with the Railway Department with a view to getting the necessary materials for the factory carried by rail, and Mr. Ilcrrics had lately assured Major Hine that he would do his best to lift the restrictions as far as the Douglas factory was concerned. Referring to the Egmont Box Company, he said that last season the position was not too good in regard to the timber in sight, and the company was running out of supplies. Authority had been sought and given to purchase 4000 acres carrying milling timber estimated flt a hundred and four million feet, M per cent, of which was white pine. They had sufficient supplies now for the nexi 35 or 40 years. The proposition seemed to be a very sound one, and the directors of the Kgmont Rox Company seemed to have a thorough knowledge of what they were doing. They wWe not sure about the survey being correct, but they were unanimous in saying that the timber was the best, and in opening it up ,they would get access to the Waiwere block, in respect to which he might say they had "bought copper and found they had a gold mine" They had bought "what they thought was white pine, and found that they had totara. | They would notice on the balance sheet a reserve of £2253 for freezing company shares. That was made up with a farthing deduction and rebates from the' freezing company. It was hoped that it would not he necessary to make I any further deductions.

Referring again to the Box Company, he said it would be necessary for them to double their shares, and, as they now held 2338 shares, they would see what this would mean, but it was not intended to fully call them up. The chairman' then went into a number of details in connection with the various accounts. Mr, Rawles seconded the motion. THE DISCUSSION. Mr. Dingle said he did not know that any complaint could be made about the balance sheet. He pointed out that at the beginning of the season their butter and cheese was held up, and they had to get finance up ,to £35,000 to enable them to make payments of the monthly cheques to supliers. This had been done through their bankers, who had not required the usual personal guarantees. Referring to ,the Moturoa Frezing Works, lie sajd that they had had to pay a farthing for their butter, which made a total of £I3OO, but there was a rebate of £BOO. There would be another rebate this season, and all they owed at the present time was £BIO. When they received the next rebate and the interest on their money they would not ; owe a single penny. A sum of £25,000 had been on the meat works, and, as the space was not needed for butter or cheese,, the freezing company was using it and paying the whoU; of the interest. This had been a very good investment, and the space was there for use, at any time they needed it, on giving notice to the freezing company. They had a representative on the company to look after their interests. Dealing' with the box company, he said they had been assured by the chairman that there were at present sufficient assets for the company to pay 20s in the £l. The box company had had a splendid year, as well they might, he added, when they kept on raising the price of crates and boxes. Referring again to the prosperity of the Stratford Dairy Company, he said that they had now 23 buildings- in connection with the company. They were in a splendid financial position, but if it was not for the reserve and the good repair of their buildings .they would not have been able to go to the bank, as they did recently, and ask for £35,000. They should keep the reserve up and maintain their buildings in good order, and if they ran the business on business lines there would be no difficulty with finance. Mr. Lehmann said he did not Wish to find fault with the balance sheet, but why was nfct the cost of manufacture for cheese given as well as butter! Were the? afraid?

The chairman said it had never been given before, and the directors saw no reason why it should be given this time. A. member, referring to the butter surplus account, asked why the balance was only £3lO when it was shown last year at £SOO.

The secretary explained that there had been further payments to the equalisation fund during the year which belonged really to the previous year. Mr. Rawles asked why it 'was that Stratford could not make the same cheese per quantity of butterfat as Toko. The chairman said that was a matter no one could explain. The suppliers, however, got the same price, for their butterfat.

Mr. Rawles asked why the manager's travelling expenses were so high. They had risen from £l3 in iniVJ-17 to £33 in 1917-18 and £205 last vear.

The chairman explained that many butter factories had converted to cheese, and the manager had had to do a lot of travelling in attending to the machinery, They were going in, for a car of their own, and they hoped this would keen the expenses down. - Mr. Huggett referred to the item £319 depreciation on cheese building, which ho considered high, seeing that the building was of concrete.

The chairman agreed .that the amount was on the liberal side, but urged that it was in accord with- sound policy. The report and balance sheet were then adopted.

_ Mr. Foley asked how many were vot ing on butter shares.

The chairman said that all who had voted were shareholders. He could not answer the question. ■Replying to a question by Mr. Milne, the chairman said that out of about. 350 shareholders about 80 were present, The secretary, in reply to Mr. Lehmann, said that only % crates of cheese | had been graded as second grade.

Mr. Rawles moved that an honorarium of £SO each be given to each of the two gentlemen who had acted as chairman of directors for the. past veat.— ('«rried. Mr. Rawles urged that'the allowance .for the chairman should be &tei, and

would move that ho receive ,£loO.per annum, payable quarterly. Mr. Dingle supported the motion, and' said the amount was little enough for a man who had to deal with over £IOO,OOO a year. The motion was carvied.

The following directors were elected: P. Ranford, G. A. Lehmann, W. H. Were' (three years), L. E. Hann (two years), and J. W. Rinton (one year).