CAUTION ADVISED.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 March 1920, Page 11

CAUTION ADVISED.

DRIED MILK SCHEMES. I RESULT OF GOVERNMENT EXr PERT'S TOUR. s j[r W. Dempster, of the New Zealand - Department of Agriculture, ™°™ r sent abroad by the Government recent t ly to make inquiries concerning the 7 establishment of the much-boomed dried- - milk industry in New Zealand, has wntt ten a lengthy statement on the sub- '• iect In the course of this he furnishes e details of the operations in the various « countries visited. In California many » .-i-,/- : e- were visited, also Canada and Holland: It was stated that Hie United Kingdom imported in 191b. J,»n,4081bs. of milk powder, and manutactured 1,121,7801b., making a total ot '* HOfllWSlbs. consumed in the country. c In addition to milk powder the Unitc ed Kingdom imported 5,600,0001b5. ot II dried milk, New Zealand heading the ;e • ..,. , vit |, vn,:;:!sc\vt.. United States and !e America coming next. n iB RECOMMENDATIONS TO NEW ?- ZEALAND. )f -■ "That the demand for milk-powder ex--0 eeedc present production is certain, » continues Mr. Dempster, "but how lcl much further production «an be -' increased without exceeding demand is lt hard to gauge. When the milk-pow- "" der industry "started in America this lS ' phase of the business was considered lt and only buildings of a temporary na ' n ture were erected. Now that the milk 10 powder business is more firmly ostabK . lished more, permanent buildings art of bein" erected, so that the erection o: es temporary buildings is not to be roconv as mended 'if it came to the survival o l T the fittest New Zealand would bo on. 8 of those countries to survive, provide; : . S the quality of the powder was equal t< n l that of other countries. There is ever; h j" reason to believe that our powdeil" should be equal to, if not hetter than "£ any produced, as our cows are mostn .n-Rss-fed and our pastures good. 1 "" we do not succeed it will be l.enaus ie the manufacturer or farmer has fade. ; ' to'carry out the good work which th 'e cows begin. We can produce milk mor „7 cheaplv'than any country, thanks t „' our climate, rainfall, and the milkin "I machine. We have less money investe ' „ in land and buildings per cow than an I°. country visited. In the W«tcrn W n „ of America dairvms takes ft. nu _t "to £llO worth of land per cow. the mu on (He "'est. £llO to £l2O. and tneEaal a ern States £l3O lo £l3O. Tn Hollan the the amount is about £3OO per cov 1. Tn New Zealand our rows are jnnr !an lower in money value than in the cow tries referred to. The facts bear weigt when considering the future devolo] ment of dairying, os a dairy farmer cr, start in New Zealand with less eapit: the than in almost any countvv supplyir ove ' the world marked

COAL AN EXPENSIVE ITEM. "I could get very little reliable data » Jgarding the cost of manufacture of lilk-powder. Most of tlio manufactures are proprietary concerns, and the latter of cost touches on private aflirs. The cost, however, is somewhere v l the vicinity of 3d to 3Jd per pound c _ f iinished powder. I found the cost of J lanufacture of butter to be much the ame, but, if anything, holier than it is a a New Zealand, Coal .= a very ex- a ensive item, and' will be one of the de- j iding factors for a company con tern- s dating the erection of a milk-powder 1 actory, the quantity required for n t 00-cow factory beins between 3 and 0 ( :ons per day. Without a guaranteed | ;oal supply ior equivalent supply of . dectric power for heating, it would be \ jseless to contemplate [making milk- , powder. To manufacture milk-powder i if the fme'st quality it is necessary to ( lave the milk delivered both morning md evening; therefore, two shifts of nen are required at the factory. WATCH-AND WAIT! "As regards the future of milk-pow-der, while satisfied that the present supply to the British market does not meet the demand, 1 would recommend our New Zealand dairy companies in suitable localities, before undertaking the manufacture of milk-powder, to watch the effect which the additional 300 tons from the Dominion, the manufacture of which has already been arranged for, will have on the market. Such increase from New Zealand' (with a further large increase to follow) will, in my opinion, be too much for the British market to absorb in one year. The securing of men skilled in the ::ianufacture of milk-powder is another p:jint; in fact, so vital that caution is to be recommended even were it certain that no country but New Zealand was contemplating immediate extension of the industry."