FARMS AND FARMERS

Greymouth Evening Star, 6 May 1930, Page 8

FARMS AND FARMERS

ITEMS OF INTEREST

(By

"Rouseabout”)

NEW ZEALAND PRODUCE.

treatment by blenders

Tho treatment received by New Zealand dairy produce from the British buyers was explained by Mr. W. M. Singleton, director of the Dairy Division. Mr. Singleton recently returned from a tour of Great Britain, Denmark and Canada, during which time ho sought information which might be of value to the New Zealand producer.

Mr. Singleton remarked that a considerable business was done in blended butter in England. He had noted that both creamery and whey butter were bought by the blenders, and it was an unfortunate fa.ct that some times whey butter .was sold as New Zealand butter. Still there was a great demand by blenders for butter of high,quality, and they were prepared to pay a high price to get it.

Tho salting question was one that needed investigation. There was no uniformity in New Zealand butter, some buyers not knowing whether they were purchasing salted or saltless butter. It was necessary that each factory should add just the quantity of salt that the trade desired. Too much or too little salt prejudiced the sale of butter, and ho would like to see a'regulation framed that there should be a minimum of 11 per cent., and a maximum of 2 per cent, of salt in exported butter. There were, he would admit, a few isolated cases in which as much as 4 per cent, of salt was required, but. the regulation could bo framed accordingly. He had been greatly impressed with the manner in which the Dairy Produce Board was advertising New Zealand butter in England. It was being brought before the consuming public in a better manner than in the past, and there was no doubt New Zealand produce was becoming better known. Such advertising had the effect of popularising the consumption of New Zealand butter. He greatly favoured the method of selling butter to the consumer under the name of the country of origin, and he thought the sale of 11b pats was undoubtedly the best method. “You know, of course, that I was particularly interested in standardised cheese,” Mr. Singleton said. The industry had taken a big leap when it decided to export standardised cheese. He had made exhaustive inqiries in Great Britain, and he felt sure that the consensus of opinion was that so long as the quality was maintained with an upward tendency, then a good price would continue to be realised. “Everybody is feeling a little more confident, and the misunderstanding and misapprehensions are being rapidly cleared,” he added. There had been a feeling that standardised cheese was deficient in fat, but he had been able by an analysis to conclusively prove that the best whole milk Canadian chaase had a smaller percentage of fat than New Zealand standardised. The analysis had shown 53.55 per cent, of fat in New Zealand standardised and 51.77 per cent, of fat in Canadian whole-milk cheese.

REARING OF CALVES.

SOME USEFUL HINTS. Calf reariftg is essentially one of the important tasks of the dairy farmer, and considerable care should bo given to its proper practice. Whatever the particular system that may be adopted, there are certain general features of management that should be observed, and to depart from these is to take away from the value of the system being followed. It is a gen-erally-accepted view that calves should get their dam’s milk for at any rate the first few weeks after calving, and whether they get this’direct from the dam oi’ whether they are hand-fed from the bucket matters very little if *the management and housing conditions are sound. There is certainly no commercial advantage to be obtained under ordinary farming conditions from allowing the calf whole milk for a longer period than four or five weeks. Milk is so readily saleable that only a limited amount can be spared for calf-rearing, and farmers will do well to limit the consumption of whole milk, very strictly. It is of the utmost importance that all liquid food should be fed to the calf at body temperatures. All sorts of ills, and sometimes fatal ills, can result from the feeding of cold or tepid milk, and apart from this it should’ be remembered that far better results in growth are obtained from warm liquid than from cold. It is absolutely essential that this point should be rigorously observed in practice, or the growth of good calves at a reasonable cost is impossible. This matter leads naturally to the question as to how many times a day a calf should be fed. In nature it would feed itself many times during the course of one day, but for obvious reasons on the farm it can only be fed three times a day at the most. For three weeks whole milk is an essential, but from that time onward it should bo gradually reduced in amount. It is possible that during the fourth week of a calf’s life it will be receiving six quarts of milk a day, during the fifth week its feeding ishould be four or five quarts of milk and one or two quarts of separated milk, and by the seventh or eighth week the daily dish should be entirely separated milk, with of course, some fat substitute to take the place of the cream. Of the 'fat substitutes cod liver oil is quite the best to use, and with every confidence it can be recommended. Thera are many other good ones, but none quite as good. It is cheap, clean, easy to feed, needs no preparation, and gives results as good as can ever bo obtained even where whole milk is employed. There will always bo farmers who are loth to change from a diet of which they have experience, to one of which they perhaps know nothing, and it is not the diet so much as the general management that influences success in calf rearing, providing that the feeding is sensible and balanced. In tho same way it is not necessary to feed as often as Nature would seem to suggest. There are undoubtedly advantages to be obtained from three times' a day feeding, but with good management very sound results can be ■ given with only twice a day feeding.

CROSSBREEDING.

SOUND LINES ESSENTIAL

Cross-breeding for beef production is a fine art, as we see it exemplified at the fat stock shows, but the fine specimens of cross-breeding t.iat nowadays ‘so often carry off tb.c chiei honours .'.ro generally the proauce ot well-bred pedigree animals on both sides, and not bred haphazardly, as aro so many of the crossbred cattle that aro seen in the ordinary market.

Cross-breeding is becoming increasingly popular with farmers in regard to all classes of stock —cattle, sheep and pigs—tho idea being that crossbred animals are more robust than purebretls often make more rapid development, and are better suited to the demands of tho butcher o. As tne system of cross-breeding extends it therefore becomes still more important that it should be carried out with a' view to tho improvement of our commercial stock, and to this end the system should bo conducted on the basis of a pure foundation on both sides.

There can bo systematic crossbreeding or haphazard cross-breeding, ’flic former consists in breeding on as careful lines as pure breeding is carried on by the selection of females of registered pedigree and mating them with a. pedigree bull of another breed. The. object in securing registered females as a basis for crossbreeding is to ensure a true cross and tho certainty of producing animals that can bo relied on to serve the purpose for which they aro bred. Haphazard cross-breeding consists in purchasing a drove of cows or heifers in tho ordinary market, of all sorts of breeds, and probably all more or less mongrels themselves, and mating them with sometimes a purebred Lnill and very often a “scrub,” with the result that the progeny is unsatisfactory in every respect. This is, unfortunately, tho system that is often pursued by farmers in general, and what should be impressed is the superiority of a true first-cross ovci all others, and tho importance of treating cross-breeding with the same degree of respect that is paid to breeding on pedigree lines. Pedigree breeding must bo the basis of successful .cross-breeding, and in recommending the- purchase of pedigreed cows or heifers it must not be assumed that anything in tho nature of fancy prices need be paid, but merely what may bo termed a fair commercial price, with a little added for pedigree. ! It is a mistaken idea that first-class beef animals can bo produced simply by tho use of a pedegree bull of a beef breed on any kind of females. Tho sire, however good he may be, cannot do everything, so that it is just as important to breed from good females, and for this reason pedigi ee is the only reliable system to work on. Occasionally we see good results from second and third crosses, but as a rule the first cross is tho best and the most reliable. Breeding from reliable stock is the only sure way of getting animals of good symmetry and quality, states an English journal. The Hereford bull with the Shorthorn cow is an excellent cross, not only for beef production but for dairy purposes as well. Well-bred Shoithorn dairy cows mated with a heavyfleshed Hereford bull produce mottledfaced calves that will gi’oiv into firstralo steers for grazing or heifers for the dairy. This cross, has not the symmetry of the Angus-Shoi thorn cross, but has moro size, and the heifers aro decidedly of a more dualpurposo typo. There is no doubt that cross-breed-ing on a proper basis will be productive of a much-improved class of commercial stock, but what must be guarded against is mongrelising.. Tins is where the importance of slicking to a first cross comes in. With pedigree parents on both sides we know exactly where wo are. With a pedigi ee, siro and a pure though unregisteied dam, one may be pretty but when it comes to a crossbred dam we are getting near the danger zone of mongrelism. There has been enough of mongrelising which has been responsible for reducing our commercial stock to a standard unworthy of a siock-bi ceding country such as this.

SHEEP DIPPING.

NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS.

Cases have already come under notice this season of mortality following dipping, which could possibly have been avoided. Deaths have occurred both where poisonous dips and dips marked non-poisonous have been used.

The term “non-poisonous” given ,to certain dips which are coal tar derivatives is strictly incorrect, as all contain a certain amount of carbolic acid or other toxic materiaL-In many countries these dips must be labelled poisonous. When mortality occurs farmers frequently arrive at the conclusion that the dip is at fault. Many of the wellknown proprietary dips arc of standard uniform strength, are in universal use, and every safeguard is taken against any danger attendant upon their - use, providing strict attention is paid to the directions, and the methods of procedure carried out judiciously and correctly. Trouble arises in a variety of ways, for example, from improper mixing of tho dip, carelessness in dipping, or lack of care in the management of the flock before and after dipping. In many cases it is sometimes difficult to be quite sure where any mistake (or combination of mistakes) has been made, but on going into the whole of the ’operation thoroughly, it may bo learned that there has been a new man crutching the sheep, or that tho sheep are put too quickly and carelessly through the dip, or that they have been driven to tho dip in the morning and put into the bath in a heated condition, or put in on a full stomach.

The majority of sheep die after dipping’ from severe broncho-pneumonia, which arises in two ways—firstly, from chill, which may be due to adverse climatic conditions or dipping late in the day; secondly—and this is by far the most important cause — the form of pneumonia that is set up us a result of the fluid getting directly into tho lungs . This is borne out by recent examinations of sheep in flocks on tho farms where mortality has occurred. As a result of this mechanical pneumonia, the amount of consolidated lung tissue is enor-

mous, and there is little leason to doubt the actual cause of death. Most deaths have taken place within thiee days of dipping. . In some cases there is a sli & nt in« flammation qf the true stomach resulting from the dip which is swallowed while the sheep is in the bath. The sheep is in an unnatural position whilst in tho bath, and unless great cai’e is observed, fluid is taken through the mouth and nostrils, and the bulk of this gets on the lungs. The following. points must be remembered in regard to dipping: 1. Follow tho instructions given with, tho dip. . 2. Mix tho dip the day before it is to be used. 3. Use rain water for mixing the dip. Should tho water be hard, add 21b of washing soda, to every hundred gallons of water. Hard water prevents a proper emulsion being made. 4. Mix the dip thoroughly, and again immediately before the first sheep are put in. 5. Avoid dipping sheep on a full stomach. A good plan is to fast them overnight. G. Do not drive the sheep before dipping, nor till {(II© day following dipping. Sheep which have become heated, or those which are over-fat, aro more liable to succumb. 7. The crutchiug should be done by the farmer himself, or by an experienced shepherd, who always stands in the same position and does not put, the head under more than is necessary. Where the sheep go under the fluid on coming into the bath it will bo sufiicicnt for the cruteller to immerso the head once. 8. Do not di ptoo late in the day, so that tho fleeces will be reasonably dry before nightfall. !). Do not rush the sheep through the' bath. If the number dipped .in a given time was reduced bj z 25 pei cent, tho losses might be considerably cut down. 10. Run off the dip when the dipping is finished, and run fresh water through the bath before tho first dipping of the season. Further information was published in the Journal of Agriculture for October, 1928, in an article by Mr. E. J. Lukey, B.V.Sc., Department ot Agriculture,' Christchurch.