NATIONAL DAIRY SHOW

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 233, 28 June 1922, Page 9

NATIONAL DAIRY SHOW

A RETROSPECT AND SOME LESSONS . FBOM OUB. OWN COJtBISFONDENT. Palmerston North, June 26. The sixth annual national dairy show in connection with the Manawatu and West Coart A. and P. Association, which concluded last week, has every right to be considered as the most successful of these gatherings so far hold, and it is doubtful if it has over been excelled in the Dominion. Tho Manawatu Showgrouffds, with the additional six acres recently purchased, now has an area of between 30 and 40, acres, and has also the largest covered-m space of any New Zealand showground. This enabled the dairy, produce to be displayed in a manner which gave every opportunity to those interested to make comparisons between the very large number of exhibits, and the exhibitors themselves. This must have been of considerable educative value. The displays of the very latest improvements in all kinds of machinery used in connection with th« dairv industry, both on the farm and in the factory, could not fail to be of considerable interest to those engaged in this most important of our primary industries. The gathering together of to many people engaged in dairying in various parts of the Dominion at this fixture is a very good thing, and gives a great opportunity for the interchange of which cannot fail to be helpful. The annual meeting of the National Dairy Association, which is .always held in connection with this show, gave a splendid opportunity to discuss the questions of improving the quality of our output of butter and cheese, and also the matter of putting our produce on the Home markets. Tho increased accommodation pro. vided by tho new breeders’ club societies allowed of something like twenty annual meetings of the various breed societies connected with stock-raising to be held in connection with the show, and the interchange of Ideas at thoso gatherings cannot help having its effect. Tho arrangements all through were better than they have ever been at this fixture, anti more consideration was shown by the association for the public, the exhibitors, and the Press i epresentatives. Tho officers of the Agricultural Department as well as the representatives of the Dairy Factories’ Association, took every opportunity of imparting useful knowledge both in the shape of lectures in a conversational manner, and it was pleasing to note that tho experts were constantly to be found surrounded by little knots of interested farmers, who were intent on getting information, and they made full use of the opportunity to get information by means of questions. Some of the points Stressed were the importance of improving the quality of our butter and cheese, and also increasing our annual production. It was pointed out thqt of the million dairy cows in use in the Dominion fully 300,000 of them were producing less than 1001 b. of butter-fat each per annum. These should be culled, and consigned to th© beef pons, and either branded or treated in such a manner that' there would be no possibility or their going back into the dairy herds. It was pointecLout that the cost of keeping and milking a cow which could only produce 901 b. of butter-fat for tho season, was just as much as that connected with a. cow which would give 90lb. from each quarter. It these cows , wore done away with,.,' and the /scrub bull was also banished, and tfie breed thereby improved, there was no reason why our output of dairy produce .which this year was valued at LLo,laaj,wu, should not be doubled. As a matter o£ fact, the butter-fat production this year had shown an advance of over zo per cent. The importance of feeding, as well as breeding and weeding, was urged, and it was pointed out that many of the smaller dairy farms were carrying too much stock to allow of the best results being ■ obtained- .It was only by feeding the cows with properly balanced rations that the best results could be expected. Mr. Singleton, Director of’the Dairy Division of the Agricultural Department, complimented both the exhibitors and the factory managers on the quality of the butter and cheese, and asked for the co-operation of the producers in improving still further the high standard they had reached, and in connection with' further increasing the output ho said that the Department hoped to go still further m tho matter of testing cows, which was onq of the essential points in improving the production. ' In connection with the growing of feed for cows, Mr. W. Deem, fields instructor for the Agricultural Department, who had acted as judge in the field root section, stressed the importance of providing plenty of these for winter feed, and pointed out that by means of proper cultivation much better samples could bo grown than many of those exhibited. Some exhibits wqre too rough. What should be aimed at was good eJean, solid root, which were of more food value than the rougher sorts, and these could bb raised by properly tilling the ground and using suitable manures. Tho demonstration in Ayrshire cattle was a most interesting item, and of considerable educative value to young farmers, and it would be a welcome addition to the programme if similar demonstrations in all breeds were given for the benefit of beginners in the dairy industry, as the knowledge gained would be very useful in the selection of cows for dairv herds.