THE £.S.D, OF DAIRYING.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1182, 18 July 1911, Page 8

THE £.S.D, OF DAIRYING.

DEDUCTION'S FROM PRACTICAL ..TESTS. : About a year ago a-cow-testing associatibn was established at.Kaupokonui, under tho direction of the officers of the Dairy Division of the Department of Agriculture. Last week at Manaia .Mr. \V. .M.. Singleton, (hoi assistant director of the Dairy Division, delivered an address to the .members of tho association. ' He said that tho average cow had given up to the .present some 570011). of milk and 22011). of butter-fat. This was u failaverage, but admitted of improvement. The average cow in the best herd had produced 78501b. of milk, consisting of 3201b. of butter-fat, and the average conin the worst herd had given 12101b. of milk, and IGOlb. of hntter-I'nt. The difference between the best and the worst, equalled about 1601b.'of butter-fat per cov;, which at Is, per lb. was worth £$. This variation meant a material difference in the net profit per cow in these two herds, The.best cow in thofour associations run by the .Department this year was to be found in the Kaupokonni Association. This cow had yielded 11,7101b. of milk, from which 507.1011). of butter-fat had been extracted. Tests brought tlvb question of dairy temperament to the fore in a way that nothing else could. A man realised that a cow must be of such a dairy temperament to milk !) or lfl months in n . season. If a cow went dry after milking 7 or 8 months it meant a loss of about 701b. of butter-fat, which was worth, at Is. per lb. .£3 10s. But if they wanted a cow to milk !) or 10 months they must give attention to feeding her during the off Eeasoli so that she will calve in good condition. The tests not only emphasised tho value of winter feeding, but they brought home the necessity of summer feeding,' which'is becoming a matter of vital importance. On a.30-cow herd there might.easily be a drop in the total but-ter-fat yield of 1701b., which- meant a considerable .loss. The care of the dairy calf was a' point that dairy farmers might well give more attention to. Ho had yet to find one of the highest producing herds amongst cows that were not quiet. If dairymen could only see in .£ s. d. what they lost from want of careful handling of their stock they would be appalled. Milk and Fat. The question of quantity of milk as against the percentage of butter-fat was another -matter. of great importance. Farmers were apt .to give the test ■ too much attention, to ,thc neglect of the quantity of milk produced. The test had a very marked influence on the quantity of butter-fat, but every practical farmer knew that he was getting the best results when ho was getting the largest quantity t>l milk. To illustrate- the unprofitableness of poor cows, Jlr. Singleton first took Civo cases. One cow milked 233 days, and firoduced 2351b. of butter-fat, which at Is. per lb. was worth J512 los. This cow had not finished milking. A second cow milked for 2:IG days, and gave 1331b.' of butter-fat, which at Is. per lb. was worth .-CO 13s. For tho sake of .illustration, he said, let the annual charge to the owner for a dairy cow be set down at -ES. Opinions differed on this question, but it was as near, the mark as they could get. On the first cow there was a net profit of M 155., while nn tho other there was a 10-s of dCI 7s. In another case a cow milked for 3U days, and gave 5171b. of butterfat,,which was worth £25.175. Deducting the .£8 expenses, there was a net gain of £\1 17s. Another cow milked 210 days, and gave 1021b. of butter-fat, worth' SS 25., which'meant a'profit en his computation of expense nf 2s. A man would need about 175 of these kind of cows to get the results bbtaiuabk- from the one cow he had just mentioned.

T,liG Dairyman's Judgment. Another matter of great interest in connection with the tests was the selection made.by farmer.-; ,of tho eight best cow* in their herds. They wanted to/see, wlu-.r tho judgment of the. average dairyman was like. A number selected good cows. One hnd selected as one of his best a cow that gave 2G9lb. of butter-fat, but ho did not select another which gave about lOOlb. more, and the cilterence between these two cows was represented by £\ IS*. The owner of this lost cow was on tho verge of selling her for. ,£lO, when he received the result of tho test. Another farmer selected a cow Giving 1791b. of butter-fat, and passed over one that gave 3331b. Hern there was n difference of 15i1b., equal to £7 Its. .The owner of a Holstein thought of selling for about <£2 10.5., also her heifer calf... ,Tfe discovered by the tests that slio was one of the be.-t cow? hi his herd, and ,!ils would not buy her to-day. Tests had shown that one cow gave in 35 days ltlb. of butter-fat, another 281b. in 33 days, and another sSlb. in 121 day 5. What Testing Does. Such results shnwod what cows to cull out. The right milkine strain was (•{ more importance than the purity of Hie breed, buJ; ho believed t-.iat if a farmer could get both he would be willing to pay almost any money. The testing enabled i> fovtner. 10-:Sclt!ct.;thn best calves for hi* future lifrd, and this was worth more to him than 10 times the whole cost of tet.ing. It also created a grcnl interest in the hoy on the farm, mid would'bo an inducement lo him to remain there. He condemned the system of culling- by the. weight of miik. at the beginning of th-.• - ■season. One cow had given 431b. of milk at the flush of tho season, and 26tlb. of buttcr-fnt for the full period. Another cow gave .THb. of milk at the flush and 3151b. of butter-fat for tho season. *In order that they might get at the worth of a caw they must take the quantity of milk ami the quality together.