HOUSING DAIRY COWS.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 74, 28 March 1929, Page 17

HOUSING DAIRY COWS.

WILL DIVIDENDS INCREASE?

AN INTERESTING QUESTION.

(By "SUNDOWNER.")

Is the housing of dairy cows a prac- | tical and economical proposition in New Zealand ? That is a question that is interesting many dairy larmers at the present time, following on experiments with housing on the Hauraki Plains. I here are some who believe that the way to greater profits and more economical working of the small holding is by keeping the cows off the grass durinthe bad weather in the winter months* stall feeding them, and housing them at nights. Some indeed would go so far as to house the cows during all the wet weather, especially on heavy land which cuts up badly. Ilousl,1 S offers a happy solution of a Tr i- T C lem in p!aces like the Ilauiaki I lains, parts of which are low lying and become absolute quagmires during the winter months. For specific °i aSC Kf jV as tiese > housing will unpay, provided the original cost of the buildings k not too great. Certain farmers, most of whom have come from England, believe that housing can be carried further, and made to pay on the average small dairy farm. A Cow to the Acre.

One farmer in the Manawatu district for instance, has set himself to carry a cow to the acre, and he has chosen the housing method of accomplishing hie ideal. Already he is carrying 29° head of stock 011 a 32 acre farm, so he isn't very far from realising his dream. His land is heavy, and he found that it cut up badly during the winter months I his meant that he lost the use of a lot of the grass through it being trampled by the cows, and he decided that it would pay him to erect the necessary buildings for housing them. He did the work himself, putting up a very con(M etc shed capable of- housing 24 cows in comfort. The cost of this was considerably less than half what it would have been had he not done the work himself, and was not beyond the average farmer. Naturally in a shed of this kind the labour cost is the greatest cost, and where the farmer is ready to do the' job himself, he can put it up for onlv £100 more than an ordinary milking shed. That sounds impossible, but is a fact.

IJaving erected his shed, this farmer decided to house his cows at night, and during wet weather, an idea he has since put into practice with considerable success as far as his pasture* are concerned. It is yet too early to say what effect this will have on the butterfat production of the cows, as it has been 111 vogue for only a portion of the present season, but as the herd averaged well over 3001b butterfat last year, and as herd improvements are still being made, it is unlikely that any drop will be shown, and it is possible that there will already be an increase attributable, in part at I«ast, to the adoption of the new system.

Effect on tue Cows. One of the first noticeable cffects which this had on the cows was the reduction of the incidence of milk fever. The cows failed to contract chills when they were being housed at night, and it is expected that there will be little calving trouble in future. The cows appear more contended, and as they arc fed hay and ensilage indoors in wet weather, and as the shed conditions are perfect both as regards ventilation and cleanliness, they should do well.

The most satisfactory and most noticeable improvement, of course, has been in the farm pastures, which, freed from the tramping of the cows during wet weather, have made excellent growth at all times. The very fact that nearly a cow to the acre is already being carried and that the herd is averaging over •3001b butterfat shows that the pastures are in good heart.

r lhe work or the farm is increased to some extent as a result of this new arrangement, but it is contended that it is made infinitely more pleasant in that mud is practically unknown. This particular farmer has adopted the central iace idea; that is to say, he has a narrow race running from his milking shed, clown the centre of his farm. The cows go down this metalled race to the different paddocks, and there is thus practically no mud at all on the farm. In other parts of the same district, oows have to wade knee-deep in mud during bad weather. °

How would this system work in with the new ideas in nitrogenous manuring? The farmer considers that it would do so very well, as the cows would be left out to graze except when the weather was bad, and would be in the paddocks during the daytime only, thus eating their fill without harming the pasture.

The Cost of Housing. Farmers will not rush in and build merely because it is paying one farmer to house his cows, but they can take an interest in the question and see whether, at the price it would cost to erect the necessary buildings on their own farms, housing could be made a profitable proposition. If a building such as this, for a small herd, could be erected for between £250 and £350, it would be a payable investment. As the farmer who has the building put it: "Many farmers spend £15 or £20 a year on cow covers, and are wasting money. That amount pays the interest on my building, and the depreciation is negligible."

That is another way of looking At the matter, which seems to show that there are possibilities in the idea. Of course housing doesn't mean that it is possible to neglect any of the other factors which make for success in dairying. It is still just as necessary to topdress the pastures regularly, and harrow, and the herds, whether housed or not, will never return heavy yields of butterfat unless they are tested and properly culled. It is admittedly an addition in an already heavy farm programme, but if it is an addition that will pay dividends, the farmer will not mind adopting it. It is at least proving sound on this farm, and there neems no'reason why, with cheap buildings, it should not be equally satisfactory oni any dairy farm. 1