DOMINION'S STOCK

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 70, 20 September 1939, Page 12

DOMINION'S STOCK

DAIRY OUTPUT DOWN

MEAT AND WOOL INCREASES

"Evening Post," September 20

Reviewing stock statistics for the past few years the Investigational and Statistical section of the Department ot Agriculture notices the fall in recent years of the numbers of dairy cows and breeding sows in New Zealand. Dairy cows in milk reached a peak in 1934-35 and breeding sows in 1935-36, since which seasons both have fallen in numbers each year inclusive of 1938-39. Another feature, and coincident with that just referred to, but 'one not given as much notice, has been the continued rise in numbers of beef cows and breeding ewes. The position is, ; shown in tabular form from 1926-27 to 1938-39, but the past three years only "Tare taken for. the purposes of this reference.- The returns are as follows:— ' ' 1936-3". 1937-3 S. 1938-39. Dairy cows in- , ■ - . milk 1,805,000. 1,764,000 1,744,000 Breeding sows 113;000 105,000 97,000 Beef cows .-. 668,000 .711,000 737,000 Breeding ewes 19,332,000 19,664,000 19,960,000 Breeding ewes. are_given as at April 30. of each season; other livestock as at January 31. Productive'rather .than total livestock of the different classes are featured in •the table for.the reason that it is con-' tended they. supply a better index; since total livestock, particularly with the'meat ;-animals,- rise and fall from yearto year due. to increased or temporarily decreased killings as a result of fluctuations in price, amount of autumn and winter feed available. Female breeding stock are much less subject to fluctuations due to causes of this kind. , NOTABLE CHANGES. During depression years farmers were heavily hit by. the fall in prices, particularly livestock farmers. Dairy j farmers met the fall in prices of butterfat by rapidly increasing the number Of dairy cows, from 1929 to 1934 the total increase being 562,000, or 41 per cent. The. rapid exploitation of the brood cow came later in the depression years,, since the call for extra young dairy stock was so heavy, and early in the depression organisation for rapidly expanding production naturally, was showing less effect than later in the depression. ■- . - : On the other hand, sheep farmers, as is usual in their case, increased slaughterings of mature sheep tremendously during early depression years; the. increase in the four seasons ending March 31 following the 1928-29 averaging close on a million head a year more than the 3,500,000 recorded in 1928-29. Numbers of breeding ewes on the'whole, however, were maintained! Slaughterings of beef cattle were also considerably increased, as also of lambs in various. years. The huge yearly increases in dairy cows during depression years were brought about in a threefold manner. Culling was reduced; increased young stock was raised; a proportion of beef cows was milked to the number of possibly 50,000 of such cows. These animals evenutally went back to the beef herds. Dealing with replacement and other problems, it is remarked in the review that dairy farmers did not realise what they had let themselves in for in later years in the way of a herd maintenance problem. A heavy and sudden increase in cow numbers makes it necessary in a few years' time for' heavy and sudden increases in the number of young replacement stock. The ultimate demand for extra replacement stock was greatly underestimated by those who usually provide them. The rapid increase of slaughterings of bobby calves during depression years, and maintenance at a high level since, only increased the difficulties of finding a..sufficiency of replacement stock to maintain dairy cow numbers. . SHEEP REPLACE-COWS. Undoubtedly the latter aspect is somewhat linked with another avenue which dairy farmers in-many of the dairy districts exploited in later depression years, namely, the introduction of sheep. "Although this trend to mixed livestock farming by many former straight-out dairy farmers was intended by most as a temporary measure only, the augmentation of income .with ,a minimum of extra labour requirement, 'and the better control and utilisation of-grass production through alternate rotational grazing by the two classes of stock, proved so, advantageous that- most of those making the change appear to have adopted it permanently. Irufact, many such farmers have been increasing the sheep farming side considerably since the depression to such an,, extent that they have - seen fit to considerably reduce dairy cow numbers, and even in some cases go out of cows altogether. . This movement in many dairy districts has be_eh responsible for decreased dairying, and naturally along with reduced* dairy cows, numbers of pigs. have;Bad-to be reduced. Also the initiation -and rapid rise of the chilled beef exports trade in recent years is haying repercussions in livestock farming. - , CHILLED BEEF TRADE. • The higher price of chilied as against frozen, beef renders it economic for beef raising, of this type. to be. conducted on better-class land, and this is.tending to find its way into the mixed livestock zones, where dairying is of some -importance. The rise in beef production is also tending to have some effect on pig production, since instances have come under notice where dairy farmers running the heavy breeds have entirely replaced pigs in the' utilisation of skim-milk by raising young stock suitable for beef purposes and disposing of them generally as one-year-olds! or when their grazing requirement can no longer be met. ; "It has to be admitted, therefore, that i definite changes in livestock farming have been taking place in recent years, and that. - although- they were barely perceptible in the earlier stages, these changes" are , now of such proportions as.to be obvious to all.