DAIRY PRODUCTION.

Waikato Times, Volume 119, Issue 19895, 26 May 1936, Page 6

DAIRY PRODUCTION.

BUTrER-FAT FLUCTUATIONG. INCREASE IN DOMINION OUTPUT. GRADING RETURNS ADVANCE. “The fluctuations in the production of butter—tat throughout the Dominion during the current season have been .so remarkable as to warrant mention.“ icommented the Minister of Agriculture. ‘the Hon. \V. Lee Martin, speaking in illamilton to-day. By the end or No]vcmber last there was a decrease of lover 60 per cent. in the production of :butter—t‘at for the four months of the season compared with the correspond—jing period of the 1934—35 season, he ‘said. At this stage it'seemed perfectly safe to predict that the production for . the whole or the season must be below that of the 1934—35 season. } But fortunately. in the intervening period. nature had been very kind to the dairy farmer, and he had been in a position to benefit from the kindness by having stock capable of responding to abundant supplies of summer and autumn i‘eed. The result was that, by the end of April the November decrease of over 6 per cent. had been changed into an increase of over 5 per .cent in the Dominion production of buttert‘at for the first. nine months of the season just closing. The grading of rproduce undertaken by the Dairy .blvision or the Department showed 3 the position. ' Grading Increase. i The returns for nine months ended ‘April 30, 19th}, with the 1935 figures ‘i'or comparison, were as follows: ‘ 1035 1936 Butter 1.1118650 Butter Cheese 10115 ions tons WES ‘Port of Auckland: ‘ | 86,143 16,011 92,085 13,144. New Zealand Total: 1 125.120 emu 136,685 77,868} These figures converted into their‘ butter—tat equivalent represented an increase of 5.58 per cent. on the current season‘s production in the Auck—land Province in comparison with the previous year, the corresponding tlgure for the whole of the Dominion being a 5.29 per cent. increase. It was noteworthy that by the end of the dairy year, which closed on July 31, it was anticipated that 100,000 tons of butter would be graded at Auckland—a little under tt13,000 had been handled by the end {of April—and should 100,000 tons be ‘e'raded at Auckland during the cur—rent season, this amount would equal lthe total for the whole Dominion for ‘the 1931-32 season. ‘ Freedom from Disease. 1 1 In View of the heavy inroads made ‘ by disease in New Zealand‘s live stock industries, it was gratifying that Auck- } land farmers, in common with thel farmers of the rest of the Dominion, had not been hampered by recent ser—ious outbreaks of disease. This, however, did not Justify any slackening in vigilance and intensity of effort directed towards the lessening of the ravages oi‘ disease. “in conclusion. it is fitting and right to recall that much of the progress ot‘ the past has been due not so much to independent action by the Department as to co—operation between progressive iarmers and the Department in the pursuit of knowledge of better farming practices," said Mr Lee Martin. “It is in the national interests that this co-opera-tion continue. the only desirable change being that the co-operation be more close and thorough. “ it is fully realised that our farm—ing practices are not perfect, and that. indeed. the Department does not possess full knowledge of what constitutes perfect practices. But a deilnito endeavour is to be made, not only to obtain greater knowledge, but to see that this knowledge is ei’i‘ec~ tivcly brought under the notice of farmers."