DAIRY PRODUCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 July 1920, Page 2

DAIRY PRODUCE.

STRATFORD DAIRY FACTORY. ANNUAL 'MEETING. A SATISFACTORY POSITION. The annual meeting of the suppliers to the Stratford Farmers' Co-operative Association, Ltd., was held at Stratford yesterday morning. Mr. F. Ranford, chairman of dirggtors, presided over an attendance of about fifty suppliers and shareholders. The annual report and balance-sheet, a summary of which has already been published, was received. CHAIRMAN'S ADDRESS, la moving the adoption of the report, the chairman referred to the work of the past year, and said there had been a few changes effected during the past twelve months. Early in the year the Huiakama suppliers waited an the .directors and requested them to in-, stul a cheese plant at, the Hulkaima creamery. ; On account of the supply not being great enough to warrant the economical manufacture of cheese, the directors regretfully had to refuse the request. Soon after this the Huikama suppliers sent In a unanimous request asking the directors to sell the com-pany's-property at Huiakama to a proprietary concern. The directors, after going fully into the matter, acceded to the request and the property changed hands at book value. At the last annual! meeting, continued the chairman, Douglas ' decided" to turn to cheese and that district had now a fine up-to-date cheese factory, a building which was a credit alike to them and to the district. While the disabilities they labored under last year resulted in a very late start being made in cheese manufacture, which, in turn, was reflected in the lower price they will have received for their butter-fat for the season just concluded by comparison with what the rest of the company's cheese suppliers i will receive, still when everything was talten ■ into consideration, the price received by Douglas was very satisfactory, and Douglas suppliers had every reason to be pleased with themselves, and with the outlook for the coming soason. In connection with Douglas, Mr. Ranford drew attention to the fact that owing to the cheese factory not being completed until later on in the season, it became necessary to resort- to temiporary separation, The difference in the' average pay-out for butter-fat manufactured into butter with that received by the Test of the .company's suppliers, would be adjusted when the final payment was made. Since last annual meeting, the delegates sent to America and to the Old Country to inquire into the question of the manufacture and marketing of dried milk, milk sugar, casein, and allied by-products, had returned ?ind furnished their report, which was of a strictly confidential nature While so far as the man in the street was concerned there seemed to be nothing aoing in TaTanaki re dried milk, casein, etc, there was at the present time a committee in existence, set up from representatives of South Taranaki dairy companies, whose duty it was to keep in touch with these and other questions affecting the dair£ industry. lie had the honor of representing the company on that committee, and ho felt sure tne company would justify its existence. Speaking of the past season, Mr. Ranford said that in spite of the very bad outlook early in the season, the make -showed a very decided increase ever the previous year. This was of course accounted for by the fact that the unfavorable spring which they experienced was more than counter-balanced by the very mild autumn they were favored with. The make of butter had decreased a little, but this was only to be expected with Huiakama out, and Douglas turned to cheese part of the season. The decrease in butter, taken in round figures using tons Instead of lbs. for their calculations, was 43 tons. This was more than counter-balanced by the very decided increase in cheese manufacture, which had Increased from 728 tons to 958 tons, an increase of 230 tons. Some idea of the magnitude of the business could be gained when one realised that the turnover for the past season was £141.000 as against £130.000 the previous year, an increase of £II,OOO. This must be regarded as very satisfactory. In regard to the pay-out for the season, It was anticipated being able to bring the average pay-out for butter-fat supplied fnr manufacture into butter, up to ahout Is 8d per lb., while suppliers to Stratford. Toko, and Huitiga cheese factories could rensonably expect til© final payment to bring their average to 2s o*4d per lb. Douglas was not quite so high, but they would receive Is lOd per lb for their cheese. The. cost of manufacture, added Mr. Ranford, was going up Rennett was at present, cheaper than last year, but on the other hpnd bandage was dearer, and would absorb what might be sated on rennett. Railway freights and fuel were rising, and labor was getting dearer, all contributing to the increased cost' of manufacture Mr. Ranford advocated the proper testing of cows in order that "boarders" could be- ! detected and eliminated. In support of this he quoted the following illuminating figures from the Stratford Cow , Testing Association: Lbs Fat. j Average cow in best herd .. 327 j Average cow in worst herd 142 The best cow 44R Average Association cow 225 Average worst herd 142 The worst cow 80 In conclusion, Mr. Ranford paid a tribute to the manager, Mr. J. F. McDonald, and the secretary, Mr. W. Fastier, both of whom had done excellent work during tho year. The report and balanc-sheet was adopted without any discussion. The election of four directors resulted as follows: H. R. Wickham 46 votes, G. S Chapman 44. R, D. Milne 32, G. A. Harris 30. .T. W. Hinton 22, J Bonner 18, A. H. Huggett 17, E. S. Walker 12. Messrs. Wickham, Chapman — and Milne were declared elected for three years, and Mr. narrfs for one year to fill a vacancy caused through resignation of. one of the directors, Mr T H. Penn was re-elected auditor. It was decided to , pay the directors £1 a day, and Is per nrfie caT expenses for each meeting of the they attended. The manager stated that tho factories would be re-opening as soon as there was sufficient milk to justify them being re-openod At a subsequent meeting of the board of directors, Mr. F Ranford was re-elected chairman for the ensuing year.

MIDHIRST DAIRY COMPANY.

TWENTY-FIFTH ANNUAL, MEETING. PAST. YEAR REVIEWED. The twenty-fifth annual meeting of the Midhirst Dairy Company was held in the Midhirbt Public Hall yesterday, when Mr. Geo. gangster, chairman of directors, presided over an attendance of about 100 suppliers, including a number of ladles. ANNUAL REPORT. The annual report showed that the returns for the year, with those, of tho previous year In parenthesis, wero as follows: Milk received, 21,110,529 lbs. (11),807,53-1), average test, 4.30 (4.18); lbs. of butter-f<jf, 897,850 (827,843) ; butter made, 1,001,998 lbs. (980,703) ; overrun, 18.50 (18.40); ratio, 19.84 (20.19). The balance-sheet showed ft surplus of E 10,366 liis Bd, which will suffice to make a further payment of 2%d over th§ season, 2d of which will be paid on July 20th., and %d as soon as butter is shipped and paid for by the Imperial Government. Suppliers would then have been paid Is 9%d, including 2d advanced on casein. Tho casein was sent forward on open consignment, through the difficulty of securing shipping space, and we shall not be In a position to make the final payment until we receive account sales. The creameries are all new concrete buildings, hit the main factory Is at the end of its life, and suppliers will very shortly have to consider tho question of replacing with a new and up-to-date building. The sum of £649 15s has been written off for depreciation at the rate of 2% per cent, on all concrete liuiidings, 5 per cent, off wooden buildings and ylunt, and 10 per cent, off carting plant account. CHAIRMAN'S ADDRESS. In moving its adoption; the ehainnian said that he understood there was a little unrest among tho suppliers on account of the high offers that had been made for cheese. Tho directors, however, could not be blamed for this, and presently he believed that the price paid for butter would be almost if not quite up to that. He congratulated shareholders on the sound state of the company as disclosed by the balance-sheet, and also the manager and staff nc the results achieved, not only at the grading stores, where he topped the grade throughout the season, but also at the various Winter Shows, culminating at the Hawera Winter Show when the factory put up a record by winning in' every class. Less than three years ago their factory was right down to zero as regards quality, whereas now it stood in the position of the premier butter factory of Tarauaki, and he would not bo far out in saying, of New Zealand. This was a record of which suppliers should be proud, and he thought it was up to all of them, including the directors, to assist t»ie wifttinger by supplying good Ylcan milk When the final pay-out was received they wr.i'd be paid equal to Is 8d per lb. This Wi.s shown in the feftianc«*she«t at li »%d, a ttfd

deducted to pay off the cost of Jlio nes- - etc. The payment had to be shown in this way, as the company was working on paid up capital. The prospects for the coming season for butter were good, but if all they luard was correct, cheese would be up v to it or better. They had been offered, he believed, 2s 6d for their butter-fat next door, mi he would ask them to consider how many half-crowns would be offered if every factory in the district was a proprlatary one. The price they would get for their bptter would be based on 3s per lb. retail on the English market. Australian buster had been bought on this basis, and no doubt New Zealand would receive 6s per cwt. more than Australia. In this case they should be able to pay out not Jess than 2s 4d per lb. butter-fat. Casein had not been satisfactory during the past season, and they did not yet know what they were going to got for it. We understood thero was a good deal still in store fit Aramoho. He thought that before converting their skim miik into casein they should ascertain its food value. Casein whey made from rennet and cheese whey were practically Identical, and he considered that both were of little value for food purposes. They would keep pigs in condition, but would not fatten them, whilst the whey was of no value for calf raising. In Mldhirst district, they went in strongly for Jerseys, and a yearling heifer was worth up to £8 or £!), say an average of £6 10s. These could be reared on skim milk after being given a good constitution on new milk and meal at a cost of £1 10s, leaving a balance of £5 per calf to the credit of skim ,mllk. Taking one calf reared to each two cows, that meant calves were worth £2 10s per cow, and averaging that cow at 240 lb. butter-fat, each lb of butter-fat would be worth 2%d for skim milk. Pigs also would give another 3d per lb. making skim imllk worth 5%d, because if a man could not make £l5O out of pigs on a forty-cow farm he was not worth his salt. Continuing, the chairman said that the skim mill:, without bothering with casein, wns worCh a: least 5d per lb. butter-fat. Thero was a great difference now as compared' with the time when calves were 30s, and pigs equally cheap. Therefore, unless they got a good price for their casein they would do better to put. the skim milk to their calves and pigs, and thus do a national good as well.

Regarding the necessity for a new factory, he pointed out that plai'is had been prepared some time ago, but the cheese question had cropped up and the matter therefore had been held in abeyance. But foT this the new factory would have been an accomplished fact since two years ago. The factory had been In existence for over 25 years, and thero was no doubt a factory would soon 1 have to be bililt. Though this would mean capital expense there would be saving tn manufacturing charges with an up-to-date plant. The company were also considering the erection of the new factory on a site where a railway siding could be obtained, thus minimising expense In regard to the haulage of fuel, etc. Moreover, if the time was opportune, n casein factory could be erected alongside. Ho then read a report irom the manager pointing out that Midhirst supplied one-third of the casein now manufactured in Tarannk' and favoring the company having Its own drying factory' in preference to joining a company. THE CASEIN QUESTION. Mr. Bowman (manager) said that to got the best article there should be no delay, and the curd should be dried Immediately Some experimenting was required before they could get their casein equal to the best French casein as no one in New Zealand knew a gTeat deal rennet casein He referred to the rl'fflculty of grading the casein under the nresent and stated that this would be overcome if they had a drying plant of their own Approximately it would cost £IO,OOO for a jrtan* to deal with their output, which Inst; year totalled 227 tons. With the nrice at £IOO per ton. in London, he could guarantee 3Mid per lb. butter-fat The chairman said that the casein question had given the diroctors considerable worry. At the various mect'ntrs. Midhlrst was looked noon for a lead, as they had cone deeply into the question. Credit for this was due to the imannger, Mr. Bowman, and if the company did erect a drying plant under his management, there was no doubt about its heins a success. deferring to the election for directors, he touched on the question of tht> creameries being given representation. The remuneration paid their directors also required increasing, if they were to obtain the service.'' of the best men. Touching on the balance-sheet, he pointed out that they had a reserve fund of nearlv £6OOO The main factory had been depredated by £ioOfl. The cost of manufacture hrd increased owing to the increased cost of rootiisl'.es.

He tlmn formally the adoption of the r.?r>nrt balance-sheet Mr. E. J. Bullot seconded. Tip DISCUSSION, In reply to questions, it was stated that the cost of manufacture was 2.0 d per lb. of butter-fnt. The directors had not had ail estimate prepared of the cost of the new factory.' Mr. Bullot asked whether separate accounts were kept for each branch. The secretary stated that the company Tvas run l on co-operative lines, and the main factory and branches were treated as ono concern. Mr. Bullot said that it had been stated that ho favored the separation of the Walpuku creamery from the company, and this he gave a flat denial. Mr. Plows said that he understood Tuna Company had been offered Is 2%d per lb. for cheese'fob Moturoa. with over 2b per lb. for whey butter Thi3 would enable them to jiay out nearly 3s, and lie considered that It should pay Midhirat to go in for cheese, if only for one season. The manager said that they could not turn over to cheeso without a curing room, and the difficulty would be to get material to erect a curing room The creameries could go in for chee9o with very little trouble, but the lack of a curing room would be the stumbling block.

Mr. Llnnell asked how the directors proposed to finance the now factory, which with the casein drying plant, would cost £20,000. Ho thought shareholders should suggest that the directors open up a sinking fund, even l lf it were not required for n year or two. 1 A sinking fund of 1-lGd or 6d per cow, set aside since the inception of the factory would bare given a fund of £250,000 »y now.' Tho chairman said that tjjis would have been a good thing, but there was always tho risk that the sum might have been disposed of. In dairy factory finance, the trouble Was that everything was sacrificed in payins out as much as possible. He considered there would be no difficulty In financing the erection of a now factory as new share capital. •The report was then adopted. After a conference with Mr. IToltz, representing the Casein Company, tne directors announced that an offer had been received foi ? casein in the vicinity of 3d per lb. butter-fat. The majority of shareholders agreed to supply at this price. ELECTION OP DIRECTORS. For the four vacancies on the directorate caused by the retirement of Messrs. L Raskin, 0. S Ferguson, R. Wcybourne, and T. S. Sherson, there were nine nominations, and the election resulted as follows: B. Weybourne 283, N. Vlckers 241, W. Pollock 235. 1. Baskin 192 (elected) ; E. ,T. Bullot 188. .Tohn Perham 174, A. W, King 12T, E. H. Linnell 108, .Tohn Christiansen 81. Messrs O S. Ferguson and T, C. Sherson' did not seek re-election. Mr. T. H. Pcnn was re-elected auditor. GENERAL. It was resolved that directors be paid 15s per meeting, and la per mile travelling expenses, counted one way. Tho chairman's honorarium was increased to £IOO. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded the manager and staff for their work during the season. It was also resolved to recommend the directors to vote tho manager (Mr. Bowman) ft bonus of £4O in recognition of his services, ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN. | At a subsequent meeting of directors, Mr. i G. Sangster was re-elected chairman. I