FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 23 August 1919, Page 2

FARM AND DAIRY.

A HIGH TEST. ] AND A POOR PAY-OUT. I BELL BLOCK'S DILESISIA. Rpei.klng at the annual meeting of the Bell Bind: Dairy Company on Wednesday evening. Sir .' S. Connett (eliairman) said one aspect of the company's affairs lie was not particularly pleased with was the pay-out. Ho would say candidly that the directors expected to got a better pay-out. He knew quite well they could net compete with lower testing factories, )n;i. he expected tliey would pay a shade over Is llii, hut there the position was. from the returns of seven factories lie would endeavor to explain how the position was brought about. After Inat annual mce.tms, ho knew that the make was low, and had a conversation with both managers, who promised to do their utmost to increase the yield, and ho believed they had done their best but could make no Improvement; in fact, with the Increasing test, the yield had come down. Since they had started making cheese the test had incvfcaaed a decimal point each year, and ■ the iniike had correspondingly dec/eased. It had been consistent, if nothing c-lao. That led him to make a move at the annual conference of tliß National Dairy Association to endeavor to get a standard butter-fat content fixed. Those people not directly interested in the matter did not look deeply Into it, but after thev had gone into it began to realise there was something. He had made a few comparisons lieiween his factory and others. He was quite prepared to admit that he was not sure of the pound ho had taken up, but was anxious to liavo the matter investigated, so as to sea if thero was anything in his contention. Figures from various factories showed that whilst Bell Block with its 4.35 tost took 37.7 lbs of butter fat for 100 lbs of cheese, Patua took 38.2, Egmont 35.5, Normanby (which had a record pay-out) 35.2, Rlvordale not quite 35.0, and lowgarth neilrly 34. The point he wanted to make wits that all thono different makes of cheese were of equal merit, or, at any rate, commanded the same price on the English market, and what he wanted to know was if they could make as good cheese with 35 lbs of butter-fat as with 37.7, where was the advantage of putting in that extra 2</. lbs of butter-fat? He was of tho opinion—until It was proved to tho contrary—that It would bo In the interests of the company to extract that surplus butter fat and soil It as creamery butter, whereas at present they were selling It at tlie cheese price of 10% d. Whether the extinction of that surplus was going to be detrimental to the balance of tho cheese he was not clear about, and he wanted that point cleared | up. If it was not detrimental, then tho position should bo reviewed with the Idea of giving I tlie high-testing factories some relief. Even then they would not be able to compare In the matter of the pay-out with the low-testing factories, but would make the position somewhat | better He had boon to Normanby on two occasions to endeavor to find out the cause of tho difference between that factory and Bell Block in Iho matter of pay-out. 'Ho understood that a South Taranakl factory manager had claimed that had their milk tested 38, instead of 3.1t, they would have paid out an extra £IOO for every million pounds of milk, and while not claiming that there was anything In this contention, tho chairman said that In that basis a .5 higher test would have meant SI'.OOO on their 12,000,000 lbs of milk. If they had received this £OOOO additional. their pay-out would not have been very far behind This was all In tho air at present, but It showed tho trend of feeling among the factories this way. South Taranakl factories were not affected because their tests ranged from 3.7 to 3.9. If there was a 4.3 factory among them it wouid have to stir around to find out how to combat tlie pay-out. The pay-out, he said, was based on the but-ter-fat content, and it was a question whether this was fair In the case of cheese. Looked at from the milk point of view, the high-testing factory came out well. For every thousand pounds of milk Eell Block was paying £4 2s, whereas Normanby, although it paid out 2s Hid butter-fat, was only paying £4 Is Sd, Patua £3 ISs 3d, Melrose (which paid 2sl £3 19s, Cape Egmont £3 14s Bd, Mells £3 16s 2d, Ararata £3 15s. The high-testing factors therefore got tho bencllt out of the milt, but whether the Jersey cow produced as much milk or not, as the poorer testing cow, he was not prepared to say. Mr Cornwall asked whether tho rates did not rise in proportion to the test? 'lf It did, and they took a portion of the fat out, would they i have a normal milk?

The chairman said that was what he wanted to know, and possibly tho department would make experiments on these lines. Mr Ogle asked how was It In tho early spring when tests were low a manager could only get nine or ton cheese out of a 800 gallon vat of milk, whilst In the fall of the year, when tho test had risen, he could get 13 or 14 Be Ihoußht a lot of the trouble lay with the inexperienced men. A man could look inside the factory to-day and next moment would be a manager. The chairman, said that the present cheese makeys had experience of high-testing milk, and with the advice of Mr Stevenson, dairy expert, who was admittedly the best man In the department for the work, he was confident they would get good results tills year. Mr Salway claimed that If Bell b«ck had had the came yield as Tarlki they could have paid out an extra 2d. Tho chairman stated that they would havo needed to got an extra .11 yield to pay but an extra Id. ■' • In the course of considerable discussion the chairman 3tated that unless some remedy was discovered, the company would liavo to consider reverting to butter and casein. Mr Ogle suggested that the manager might experiment himself with vats of low and hightesting milk respectively. Mr Cornwall pointed out that suppliers had been doing their best to Improve their herds, and it Seemed that the effect at tho factory nullified their efforls. The chairman stated that ho was satisfied dm'.np the coming year the results would be obtained if It were possible to get them.

UNRESERVED SALE PEDIGREE JERSEYS. Those Interested in pedigree Jersey cattle are well advised to read advertisement'hi tills Issue showing particulars of unreserved dispersal sale ot "Clydesdalo" herd, to bo held at Carnarvon, fifteen miles from Felldihg, and thirteen mile; from Falmerston North, on account of Mrs C. A. McKenzle, on Monday, the 25th. Inst. The offering comprises 8 heifers, C cows and 4 bulls. Including the well known herd s'.re "Reply of Meadowbrook," with whom a number of the females have been pasturing. This herd was founded by the lato T. A. McKenzie, and the sale presents a splendid opportunity of obtaining choice animals of high mer't and lineage. Should there be any delay In giving delivery of cattle, owing to curtailed railway, service, vendor is prepared to hold them free of charge for one month. As the property has been leased, the auctioned, Dalgety and Co., Ltd, Palmerston North, from whom catalogues mny be obtained, havo heen Instructed to-sell without reserve, commencing at 12 30 o'clock sharp.

HIGH LAND VALUES. Speaking at a social function at Kaponga last reek, Mr A. V. Tail briefly discussed the high land values now ruling (says tho Star.) He mentioned that in one case a dairy farmer in thai district had made an average of £l7 per acre out of his land, and he had no special advantages over his fellow farmers. Iu his opinion, if this man could make these returns, there was no reason why others could not do equally as well or even better on the good l«nd in the Mangatoki-Kaponga district. Ho would not be surprised if later on the value of butter-fat came back to Is 6d, but even at that figure, with good land at £IOO an acre In that district, a farmer coi,.ij do well if he farmed judiciously. He did not anticipate that butter-fst would go below Is 6d for many years, if ever. Tlie country's great need, was for greater production, but to do this the land must be farmed to the best advantage. Apropos of Mr A. V. Talt's remarks, that a farmer up Kaponga way had. taken an average of £l7 per acre off his farm-thin last season, a record, nut up by Mr. Griffon, yvho supplies the Riverifelo fictory, will be read with Interest. Mr Grlffim Cairns 48%imeres of flrsf-'olass land on tho Main .South Road ,this. side, of Rainle road. From fhls faifti. lie by the Riverdale'fa'«t'6rV'for 12,804 lb of fat, which, at 2s per dbv equals £1280.' '-Allowing oven a small margin for pigs, calves, etc,/thls-works out a' roughly, £27 per acre. , ~Mv Griffon, of course,' farms Intensely-' and fntrtls well, but it only again>demonstrfiteh< that small areas of first-class Tara-uaki land,..whereon lucerne, root crops, etc.,.are grown, and where a, good clans of dairy cow's "is kept and properly managed, a very good "Income Indeed can be made.