N.Z. HERD TESTING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 4, 6 January 1931, Page 13

N.Z. HERD TESTING.

THE SEASON'S RESULTS.

THIS YEAR'S POSITION.

A very arduous.and difficult year for dairy farmers has passed since last we reviewed the position of New Zealand herd testing in these columns, nor can it be said that the present outlook is at all hopeful. An American writer recently drew attention -to the fact that the more aids that science brought to humanity the harder we had to' work, and a fitting application of that remark to the present situation is that the lower our dairy prices go the harder we have to test. When prices for butterfat are high conditions would be considered ideal for increased testing, but that increase is still more needed :n adversity when every penny counts

and when the accounts at the end o the year show so small a return for £ year of effort. Admittedly there an hundreds—possibly thousands—of mil dairy farmers who are merely "haugim on," working at a loss, and hoping foi better times ahead. However, they wil find that the testing fees comprise oik of the items of expenditure whicl should only be reduced as a last possihh resource. Testing fees and moncj spent on fertilisers come into the sann category; they are reproductive ex penditure, and will return' dividends The only difference between them i; that with the fertiliser the farmer feel; the effects at once whereas with testing the process of improvement is more gradual. Records Created. It is probable that last season was the peak year of testing in N.Z. Despite strenuous efforts on the part of the federation supervisor, Sir. C. 31. Hume there are less cows under test at present- than there were this time last rear, and although the drop is not serious it means a slight setback to the novement, which is unlikely to be reovered unless prices improve considerably before the next testing year opens. There vere over 283,000 cows under test last • ear, this number being an increase of learly 25,000 over the previous year, rhe average butterfat production was i record for the Dominion, being :53.611b. When the number of cows is aken into consideration, together with he diversified nature of the country iver which testing was operating, this esult is highly creditable to fanners nd is notable progress when it is emembered that ten years ago it would irobably have been about 1001b less. Outstanding features of last season's rork were the increased interest taken ii districts which had hitherto tested ut little, and the steady increase in he percentage of tested to total cows n various districts. This percentage

showed up in glaring fashion the way in which testing has been neglected in Taranaki. At. first sight the figure of 31.000 cows under test there sounds impressive, but when it is seen that this comprises only 15 per cent of the total cows and that it is the lowest of any district in the North Island, the need for a better understanding of the value of testing will be realised. Little improvement lias taken place this year so that hope lies merely in the future. The testing position of Taranaki is interesting in its relationship to stock sales, for it is within knowledge of those in touch with breeders' sales, that those who are doing the biggest business at the best prices are the men who are testing: for all they are worth.'

Waikato's Great Lead. The group herd testing movement was founded in the Waikato, and has all along made its greatest progress there. For the purposes of testing record's, the Waikato is grouped in with the Auckland land district, but of the 109,811 cows tested there approximately 100,000 would be in the Waikato proper —an achievement of-no mean order, and one in keeping with the progressiveness of this well-farmed district. The position of Gisborne is in some respects noteworthy, too. Five years ago there was no such thing as group herd testing in Poverty Bay, but from small beginnings it has grown until there are now over 12,000 cows under test. c This does not sound impressive after the Waikato's great figures, but it must not be forgotten that Poverty Bay is not a dairying district, and that there are only about 37,000 dairy cows there altogether. Looked at in that light, as a percentage of the total cows in the district, the cows tested in Poverty Bay made a braver showing than those of any other district in New Zealand, beinp 33.4 per cent, as against the next best figure of 2(5.8 for Auckland, which in eludes the Waikato.

Cows Milked Longer. 1 Another factor which naturally affects the year's .returns from the cows is the length of time they remain in milk. The longer the period, the greater the return to the farmer. Last season was notable also for an increased lactation period, and' although on the average this was only five days, the increased production accruing through an additional five days, from close on 300,000 cows, means in the aggregate a very satisfacJ tory addition to dairy farm income, i The fact that the highest group average was 318.421b and the highest herd ; average 455.431b shows that good as past i records have been, there is still room for further increases. In every district there are farmers whose returns are .so far above the average that their methods of farming are the envy of their neighbours, and it cannot be gainsaid that the educational side of the testing movement is one of its most important aspects. Farmers learn to take an interest in the figures in their group and their district, to study those of other districts, which eventually leads to an inquiry as to why those other figures should be greater than their own, and thus to the adoption of more progressive practices, which, in turn, increase the farm returns. The present low prices are deplorable, but bad and all as they are, they are not an excuse for non-testing.