TESTING OF HERDS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 21978, 23 March 1946, Page 8

TESTING OF HERDS

FEBRUARY RETURNS

GOOD OPOTIKI FIGURES

During the period ended February 2C {lie Bay of Plenty and East Coast Herd Improvement Association supervised the testing of 25,332 cows, and the effect of the dry summer was evident in the low average of milk poundage, the over-all average for the period being 4421 b. The return of butterfat for file period averaged 2211 b per cow, with a 5,01 test. The Manutuke-Patulahi area had 68C cows under test, giving an average of 4921 bof milk and 251 bof fat. Opotiki area tested 1532 cows, averaging 47o'ib of milk and 20lb of fat: Te Karaka-Onnond-Gisborne had 528 cow- tested, with averages of 445 and 231 b of milk and fat: Tolaga Bay had !U8 cows, averaging 4291 b of milk and 211 b of fat. and Wairoa tested 1)03 cows, with milk and fat poundage of 455 and 22. Among the smaller herds milked in .the areas mentioned. Te Karaka-Ormond-Gisborne had the best test of 18 cows averaging 281 b of fat. Tolaga Bay being next with a 17-cow herd averaging 221 b. Of the herds from 21 to 50 cows, Opotiki topped the list with a 43!b fat average for 43 cows. Manu-luke-Palutahi and Te Karaka-Ormond-Gisborne. were level with 301 b of fat from 43 and 30 cows respectively: and Wairoa was next with 291 b of fat from 32 cows. Herds from 51 fo 100 cows, in the same areas, were also topped, by an Opotiki herd of 02. which gave 291 b of butterfat per cow; Te Karaka-Ormond Gisborne and Wairoa each averaged 281 b. and Tolaga Bay 27. with Manu-tuke-Patutahi returning 241 b for a herd of 83 cows. Larger herds of 101 cows and over were milked in only three of the areas centering on Gisborne. Opotiki had flic best herd among these, a group of 122 returning 341 b of fat per cow. Tolaga Bay had a herd of 133 which averaged 291 b, and Wairoa a herd, of 104 which averaged only 181 b.