THE LAND.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 251, 22 October 1924, Page 13

THE LAND.

FARMING IN THE KING COUNTRY THE DAIRY INDUSTRY. COWS, TESTS, AND BREEDS. " ANCHORITE," Most dairy factory concerns pay the ■upplier ou the basis of the butterfat content of milk, and for that reason the test is always of sorae concern to the dairy farmer. When modern testing appliances are employed the butterfat test of milk , s so simple an operati and the system so reliable, that the work can be done by almost any 'layman of ordinary intelligence The milk test supplies the key to the total amount of butterfat in the milk when the weight, of the milk is first ascertained. The dairyman who lias provided himself with a testing outfit, and uses it regularly, is constantly gaining valuable information regarding the product of each unit of his herd, besides acquiring important knowledge necessary to his future breeding operations, and in the meantime recording the production of the animals being milked. The butterfat percentage of milk is of paramount importance in all branches of milk production, and its by-products. It is an established fact that the breed of cow causes the average percentage of butterfat to vary very considerably, apart from the quantity of milk such animals produce. It is also very noticeable that the various dairy breeds in other countries vary very slightly in test to animals of similar breed in this Dominion. The average tests obtained in thie Dominion from all the first-class certificates of record of the various breeds of dairy cows from 1913 up to 31st December, 1923, are as follows:— Jersey 6.55, Red Poll 4.39, Ayrshire 4.11, Milking Shorthorn 3.07, Shorthorn 3.90, Friesian 3.54, the number of records in rotation, as above, being:—239l, 34, 113, 263, 6, 1042. It seems to be well recognised that "the richness of milk is purely a matter of heredity, although tests within a breed have been known to vary very considerably, the variations being mainly due to the individuality of the animals. About ,80 per cent of Milking Shorthorns show a fairly even test of between 3.5 and 4.29, whilst the Ayrshires invariably show a test of between 3.5 and 4.29. The average test of the Friesian breed in New- Zealand is 3.54. It is an established fact that a cow that is neglected in her late period of lactation, or one that is due- to calve early soon dries off, and then the test will rise according to the rapidity of decrease in the milk yield, and therefore such cases affect the average yearly test of the individual animal. Apart from heredity some of the factors which would appear to influence the test are: The period between calving at the commencement of the teet and subsequent calving, the age of the animal, time of calving, the (season experienced, the number of days in milk, and the period during which the cow was empty. The milking period does not always tend to influence the test, however, for sometimes the farmer ends a test before the cow is~dry, and in such instances the average yearly test will appear lower than normal, for the simple reason that the higher final monthly tests of the cow's lactation were omitted. Experienced dairymen assert that quantity and quality of milk are quite independent factors, and that they are separately hereditable, and that by selecting good producing animals of high test for future breeding operations the average test—together with the milk quantity "production of the herd—will be improved, which is the goal all successful dairy farmers have aimed for. It frequently happens that an individual animal may inherit capacity for a given quantity and quality of milk, but that both these may vary very considerably during the lactation period according to the circumstances of food supplied, and to weather and olher conditions. Considering- that the tests within any particular breed of cow vary, the breeder is afforded, good scope to study and breed for quality by careful selection, and to thus eventually build up a superfine herd of high producing animals. A splendid check on the herd owner's testing figures is to multiply, the tester's check weights by the test and to proportion out the result for the number of days in the month —that is, on the system of compiling herd-testing association returns. Regarding butterfat records, the Jersey breed, so far, has fifteen 10001b records to its credit, and among thestj are the wonderful New Zealand cows Pretty's Flirt and Vivandiere, which come twelfth and eighth in the list, respectively. (Vivandiere has nowj probably established a world's record on twice-a-day milking) Vivandiere, the super-cow, is a combination of many well-known and proven strains of highproducing animals, and in her case, at all events, goodness is hereditable. The Ayrshire breeders of Scotland have benefited very greatly from herdtesting, principally by reason of the Canadian and American demand for milk-record animals, the Americans particularly being very remunerative customers for carefully tested cattle. Many of the heaviest producing Ayrshires of Scotland have been bought by Americans, and now there are some of the finest Ayrshire herds to be found in any part of the world in America. The American buyers demand that every animal be tested for tuberculosis also, and on reaching the States all cattle are quarantined for 90 days. In Humboldt County, in California, there is a fertile valley of some 60,000 acres, and very similar in many respects to the Waikato and Northern King Country. In the early days the farmers went in for milking, and after they were well established they took great pains in testing their cows, and have been improving in their testing methods up to the present day. There are now 28,000 cows being milked in this vaTToy, and in 90 per cent of these animals the Jersey blood is in evidence. The average butterfat production of these herds is over 3301b per cow for the whole valley. Here is an old-established community which, although it has not a high per-1 centage of purebred cattle, is working up a good record for Grade Jerseys of high-producing capacity, and is becoming noted for its progressive dairying activities throughout the land. This is very largely the result of the lessons learned by the herd-testing activities of the dairymen in that locality. In these modern times no breeder of importance fails to test his herd and eel] on the pedigree- of performance.