82 Journal of the Department of Agriculture. 



DAIRYING IN THE UNION. 



Report by E. O. Challis, Superintendent of Dairying, 

 on certain matters of interest connected with the 

 year ended 31st March, 1920:— 



Production of Butter and Cheese. 



19)8. 1919. 



Butter — lb. 11). 



By creameries 13,939,558 9,335,219 



Sold on markets 2,781,490 2,453,240 



Sold to merchants 2,500,000 2,000,000 



Totals 19,221,048 13,788,459 



Cheese — 



Factories and clieeseries 6,816,314 3,756,145 



There was a very serious reduction of 5,432,589 lb. in the 1919 

 output of butter, as compared with 1918, and in cheese of 3,060,169 

 lb. The decrease in butter was due, in a great measure, to the after- 

 math of influenza and the caterpillar plague, followed by a severe 

 drought in all parts of the Union during the months of November 

 and December. 



This, to a certain extent, also applies to the output of cheese, 

 but another factor which mitigated against its greater production was 

 the terms clferei by the Imperial Government not being sufiiciently 

 attractive to encourage export. The first contract was arranged for 

 Is. Id. per lb. f.o.b. and payment after the end of 30 days' storage, 

 whereas the second contract only provided for lOfd. being paid per lb. 

 f.o.b. and two months' storage at the seller's expense. This, combined 

 with the high price demanded by farmers for their milk, made it 

 almost impossible to produce cheese for export, except at a loss. 

 Consequently most factories curtailed the purchase of milk to the 

 extent of meeting local requirements only, and the balance, which 

 otherwise would have been converted into cheese, was generally 

 separated, and the resulting cream manufactured into butter. By 

 quite a number of cheese producers it was considered that manufac- 

 turing butter and the feeding of the skim milk to pigs was a more 

 paying proposition than making cheese at lOfd. per lb. 



Including butter substitutes. 



