IMPORTANT TO FARMERS.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 January 1920, Page 2

IMPORTANT TO FARMERS.

To the Editor. i Sir,—l wish to draw the attention of dairy farmers to a most important matter affecting tiie above. Surely dairymen are acquainted with what obtained before the admit of combination for the production of butter per creamery and factory. They must recollect the position(phen 'proprietary concerns were the only ones receiving their milk, the agitation for purchasing such or taking the matter in hand per means of co-operation, and also the benetits accruing to them by so doing. They recognised then that if it paid a combination of men with money to invest to produce butter from their milk, that It was not done from purely philanthropic motives, and that, by combination, the profits going to such men would come to where it rightly belonged—themselves. The upshot has been the extension of co-opera-tive dairying and the consequent building or creameries and factories all round the district. That was No. 1 step, but for some not recognised reason they did not value the further extension of the co-operative rrinclple by adopting combination for distribution, and In consequence a huge army of capitalistic merchants, commission agents, and other Individuals has sprung up and grown fat on the work of the dairy farmer—step No. 21 Tho logical conclusion to arrive at was that such methods should be wiped out by further cooperation for distribution, for, having found It possible to co-operate for manufacturing, it stems ridiculous that tho latter phase should have been allowed to grow. The leaders then, showed a remarkable Ineptitude to recognise the power of combination, and hardly recognise it yet. They practically groped along In- a sort of apprehensive manner, continually expscting disaster, showing they had no faith, In the expansion of the business by which they, lived, and this feeling communicated to the rank and file Is, la a large measure, to blame for the condition of affairs at present If dairymen had had faith, if the leaders had closely studied the advancement by science with regard to milk products instead of going to America and elsewhere for Ideas, etc wa could have been far ahead of the whole world However, some years ago I drew attention ta the need of dairymen to wake up and amalga-. mate for production, and, necessarily, distribution. I pointed out that such means would enable dairymen to suceessfully cope with any, expansion or alteration that may crop up with, advancing scientific treatment of milij and Its products, as the Industry was but in Its infancy. Also, that the loss occasioned tho producer through the then system of distribution, would be done away with. The heads of the different factories were ao certain that we had attained perfection under the present sjste..i of manufacture, etc., that they stuck to the same old style, and deemed It impossible to undertake co-operation on such lines and thereby kept the farmers they were representing under the thumb of merchant and shipping "combinations. This cannot be denied «u, kick, squeal or squirm as much as they like, the co-operative dairymen will go on until the pressure simply throttles them. The war was supposed to havo enlarged man's vision and it certainly has shown opportunities for moneyed men to stop In and obtain a further picking from the dairy farmer, which I will sliow later on. I maintained in former articles that factories should amalgamate and produce butter at a central place (proferably the port), and that machinery would lessen the bill paid , t for labor, while Uio close proximity to tho port would save in material, labor ana fuel, and, further, that producing Immense quantities under the one control would enable business to be conducted on Improved lines la every respeot. Without going over the same pound again, I still maintain that that should Ds done, and that events since my first articles were in print (January 11, X9H) and your subleader regarding same (January 28, mi) have further shown the importance of giving effect to the propose 1 I made. The report of tha gents, sent out to Investigate the several advancements regarding anllk foods has not as yet been made public, but It will be remembered that two large companies in the North amalgamated for producing dried milk, thus anowng that the farmers there could see what they would gain by amalgamation, and, so n „ ot hoard that they have repented of t. .ir action, Now, Sir, It is,well known that f cons . ld "j^ le number of cre amery and factory buildings need rebuilding, and suppliers be faced with expensive concrete structures in the near future. It is well known *«• •» » 1«» number of farmerfT 11 6 l> resent system, and ha<« adopted home separation, which is still galnlna WeU known through dissatisfaction and other causes, dairymen are dropping butter for cheese, etc., thereby entailin !£f. expenditure twice over in buildings. t l , means lbss to Uie farmer. On tho mLi "ti We have P r °l> rie ""y concerns making apparently remunerative proposals to farmers to supply them with milk, both for dried milk produotlon and for cheese, and of a consequence in other parts of the Dominion we see privately-owned dried milk factories while in Taranaki we have privately owned' cheese factories springing up and the co-operative this dtatrlet Z r elti ? ctlon - We have In , 5 a , lso a Proprietary outside concern lnslduously undermining the co-onerativa movement, and the large amount of cream cans daily picked up by the train and yeady lnff a !' Be ,, ln quantity Is another factor tending to handicap co-operative extensions, if not altogether cripple the movement. It is ail very well for the dairymen to say that they can purchase the recently erected private cheese factories later on, etc., but they must see that they are that amount the poorer, ana tnu ? Bere . r ha J c been »"wed to happen. We have in this district larce area* 1 formerly grazing country, which have been up into small areas for soldier settlers and which must go for milk production Ail this ™"iL«.? 1 ? Ub , U0 1 is t0 slrea(i y established cheese or butter factories, yet it Is on the cards that the private individual with money to Invest will Induce the settlers interested to overlook co-operation. By centralisation of the butter production ail the present diverse methods and other disabilities would bo obviated and better t!?!i ,i ci » ui i . t0 the 3ettlers "id the diatrlct, and It behoves our leaders to see to it immediately, when I suggested centralisation K U ! y ' f ° to , ,hroush t!lt ridiculed tho Idea of carrying cream long distances per rail, notwithstanding that I showed what lfad SIS? nf °T , by , the Ile1 le Auckland concern and also at Talerl, so tho operations of the outs ie concern are sufficient to prove who was risht. Mr. Reader, you can take it from me that what is going on Is a serious men-ce to Oils district and I care not who aUerams to controvert that statement. The harbor the butter freezing works and other concerns which have cost toe farmers a huge amount of cash will feel the pinch as years go by if something is not done to counteract the undermining of co-operation as insiduously started. Amalgamation and centralisation are the only remedies. The farmer, who think only of the cheque of to-day by supplying private concerns i on account of a few extra pence per lb for his butter-fat, or a little above his own creamery price for milk to privately-owned cheeseries, is simply galloping his fellows into the corral of the speculator (a condition which obtained odd years ago) and when s.ev IS all corralled, what then? Evidently co-opera-tion is but little understood when we have such a state of affairs, and again I say there is only one remedy, one mean 3 of strengthening the system. A while back the manufacture of casein under conditions of amalgamation was mooted, and I understand will be given effect to shortly, and what Is in it therefore must go to the producer, but I would ask-: Had the idea of amalgamation and centralisation as suggested by myself in 1011, been put into force, would the farmers have suffered the loss and humbug they have during the last Ave years, and would not the manufacture of cajeln or other by-products been a slmpio matter for the combination to have taken up? Muddle, muddle along somehow is truly correct of the English nation, and I suppose one can't expect anything else from us t.ntil Father Time takes his toll and more progressive and younger men are forced to tho head of affairs.— I, am etc..

JOE B. SIMPSON. Durham Road, January 15, 1920.