DAIRY REGULATIONS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 3026, 24 October 1908, Page 5

DAIRY REGULATIONS.

CONFERENCE AT CARTERTON

MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE PRESENT.

There was an attendance of nearly two hundred persons at Victoria Hall, Carterton, last evening, including several Masterton and Lower Valley farmers, when the Hon. R. McNab, Minister for Agriculture, gave an address prior to a Conference with Wairarapa dairy farmers regarding the Dairy Regulations. The proceedings were presided over by the Mayor (Mr W. Moore). Mr J. T. M. Hornsby, member for the district, made a few remarks at the opening of the meeting, stating that he was particularly pleased to see so many Lower Valley dairy farmers present. Mr Hornsby stated that the object of the meeting was that as the Minister was in their midst he might thrash out with dairymen face to face any objections they had to the new Dairy Regulations. Such a method of discussion was better than "tons of pamphlets and oceans of officials" (Hear! Hear!) A free and hearty invitation was given to all queries and statements concerning the industry. Mr A. W. Wilkinson, of Tauherenikau,. said he was a director of the Cool Milk Company at Featherston. He prefaced his remarks by stating that only a few present that evening had perused the revised regulations, and therefore the meeting would not be quite so effective as might be desired. He wished to say, however, that the few who had perused them were entirely favourable to them as a whole. He could hardly understand why—although the registration had been fixed at ss—the Government had after the Palmerston Conference, where a fee of 5s was recommended, decided to make it 10s. Only one or two of the amended regulations might cause any misgiving in the minds of dairy farmers, one being in regard to the ccucreting of floors and the whitewashing of the internal woodwork, though in regard to the latter he was pleased to see it was only required to be an annual process. He himself had once wished to use permanganete of potash instead of whitewash, but the inspec'or would not permit it, arid he wished to know why the potash was not allowed as a substitute if desired. The speaker also alluded to a hardship he said was imposed on Wairarapa milk suppliers in regard to the railway difficulties in the way of supplying fresh milk to Wellington. He considered the Railway Department was not considerate enough to dairy farmers in this respect. Mr Fuge, of Featherston, one of the delegates to the Stock Committee Inquiry on the Regulations, said that as a large supplier he considered ro fa.lt c-.uld how be found with the regulations. Smalldairy farmers might, however, find the requirement of a 30ft race an undue expens?. He would also like to see the matter of having the milk cooled provided for that if a farmer by placing his cans in a water race or by other means reduced the temperature to a degrinsufficient to sitisfy a factory meager that should meet the requirements of the Regulations. Mr W. Fisher said that as a representative of four different factories he had caalled a Conference of dairy farmers that day to discuss the Regulations, but only about a dozen had been able to attend. These had gone through tne clauses, and one of the chief objections was tc the tax of ss. The meeting considered that the amount should be a mere nominal registration fee of Is or 2s 6d. They also disagreed with the requirements for a 30ft race, and also considered that the power of the in* spector—absolute under the Act of 189S—was not removed, seeing that the present Regulations were to be attached to that Act. The meeting thought that if instead of the inspector a tribunal composed of two dairy farmers and a person appointed by the Chief Inspector dealt with objections the Department's and the farmers' interests would be better served, and inspectors would perhaps use more discretion. (Applause). Mr Ordish contended that competent inspectors to administer necessary regulations was a very desiraule thing. He objected to the clause excluding fowls from the cowsheds on account of the difficulty of observing it. Mr Cailister said that he believed that most of the regulations were what was wanted. He had spent a great deal of money himself over his dairy farm to make it up-to-date, and felt assured every penny of the expenditure was justified. Mr Welch said that he thought the dairy farmers "court of appeal" should be on the lines stated by Mr Fisher. Tfae Minister was greeted with applause on rising to speak. He said he was surprised to find that he was not faced with an array of complaints, having understood that among dairy farmers was a seething mass of discontent in respect of the Regulations. He wished to reply to their objections, and also outline the Government's intentions clearly in regard to the Regulations. He was pleased that the work of the Slock Committee in re-drafting the Regulations had been appreciated, and stated that he was not the author of the original Regulations. It had been said that Mr Hornsby was among those who voted for clause 9, in the 1898 Act, which gave absolute power to inspectors, but the speaker quoted from the journals of the House to show that Mr Hornsby was not then a member of the House, and that Mr Buchanan was prresent when clause 9 went through without a ' single division. Regarding the objections to the requirements of a race ' for certain sheds, the speaker said '. that a misconception existed, as the race was only required where a yard ' was not erected sufficiently large to accommodate all the cows at one milking. Personally, if he had not • thought that the Regulations were » going to bring in another £50,000 ! to the industry in New Zealand he ■ would have said, "Don't touch \ them." There was no burning desire j on the part of Ministers to interfere j with any industry. He quoted at i length expert advice to the effect r that contaminated milk was the bane cf the New Zealand dairy industry,

and the cause of a great loss annas Hy in the Home markets. The care Jess use of milking machines was greatly responsible for this. The Department hoped that by the time the Regulations were to come in to force (July Ist next year) the training of eommonsemise men as inspectors would banish all objections to the administration of the regulations. He believed that if proper whitewash were used it would be found serviceable and effective, but said other mixtures were equally suitable. The Minister resumed his seat amid applause. Mr Hcrnsby then gave a short address, after which Mr Wilkinson moved a hearty vote of thanks to the Minister for his address, and that the meeting considered the Department was doing its best in the interests of dairy farmers. The motion was carried by acclamation.