HERD TESTING

Grey River Argus, 16 June 1933, Page 8

HERD TESTING

West Coast Association ANNUAL MEETING. The third annual meeting and dinner of the West Coast Herd Testing Association was held yesterday afternoon, Mr 11. G. Carter presiding over an attendance of over one hundred farmers and their wives, from all pa.rts of the Coast. Air J. O’Brien, Alembcr for the Dis-' trict, and the Mayor, Air J. AV. Greenslade, were also present. Apologies for absence wore received from Captain Whitmore, Alessrs 11. AV. Kitchingham and J. Alonk. 'The President, in welcoming those present, said that it gave him great pleasure to say that the Association had kept its affairs in a satisfactory position during the past year, and had fully justified its existence. 'The Alayor welcomed all those present to the, town. The fact that some of them had come over one hundred miles to be there was, to him, a demonstration of enthusiasm that should I not be overlooked. The figures to i'c put before them amply' illustrated the advantages to he gained from testing, and he hoped, that in the interests of the industry on the AVest Coast the Association would continue to he kept alive. Ho congratulated the winners of the various trophies, and in conclusion assured the .farmers of the cooperation of the people of Greymouth in anything that they might do. Air O’Brien, on behalf of the people of Grey mouth and of AVestland, welcomed those present, especially those who had come from the adjacent districts of Buller and Alotueka. The figures of the Association proved an old statement of his that the AVest i Coast was destined to become a second Taranaki. The Association average of the year of 2521bs showed that on the West Coast they had land as good as anywhere, and even the boosted Taranaki and the AVaikato could not beat us by much. lie congratulated the winners of the trophies, and although their totals were not as high as last year, the general average was 201bs greater per cow. There was a true proverb that slated that agriculture w;’-s the root of the economic tree, and therefore every' consideration should be given to those engaged in agriculture, and he wished to say that some-1 times that consideration was not I given. The Ottawa Conference had promised relief, hut immediately after it butter had fallen 9s in price. Thon there was the pegging of the exchange rate, and after that butter had fallen 30 per cent. It was not the overproduction of butter that should be attacked, hut the under-consumption. They had bountiful harvests on one side a.nd want ami privation on the other. In conclusion ho advised the farmers to go in for herd-testing again and again, as an economic proposition. The Alayor then presented the trophies to the winners. In the absence of Air J. Alonk, the Teacher Shield, for the best herd, was accepted by Iho President. The Alayor referred to the tine work of Air Alonk in a.gain winning the trophy, to Air F. Jacobs in being the runner-up, and also to the place that Kokatahi was taking in the dairying world. Air Carter suitably replied. The cup for the highest production from individual cow was won by Air J. Mulcare, of Ngahere, and in making the presentation to him Air Carter referred to the hard-working characteristics of Mr Mulcare. Air Alulcare assured those present of (he pleasure that was felt by him in winning the trophy, and spoke of (he benefits of testing. ANNUAL REPORT. The .President submitted the following annual report:— The Executive desires io report that the season just passed has been a very satisfactory one for the members as far as testing figures are concerned, although the climate conditions have been very' much against us. Although the final figures arc not yet available they indicate that the averages are up to the standard of previous years, and compare favourably with other parts of the Dominion. Earlier in the season the month’s figures were sent to Air Hume, the Dominion organiser, and he wrote a. let- • ter of congratulation to the Associa--1 tion for the splendid results achieved, and he maintains that the Coast is going to be one of the best dairying districts in New Zealand. On perusal of the balance sheet, which is attached, you will note that there is a credit balance of £l9l 16s, but had it not been for the Government subsidy' for plant am] also the sale of one of our machines, the balance would have been \ery small, ami just sufficient to ca.rry us through, but this must be considered satisfactory as the fees to the members were considerably reduced. The past season has been a very hard one for the farmers, but; it is in these difficult times that testing is really a necessity as it points out which cows should be retained and those that are not paying to feed. Mr Hume points out that to the farmer who has tested two or three years in succession it is only by having the test figures month by month that he knows definitely he is obtaining all the fat that a cow is capable of producing. His test figures for the previous seasons have set the standard for each cow in the herd. By studying his monthly returns and comparing them cow by cow with the same months of the previous season he is in a. position to say definitely i whether or not that, cow is being properly milked. As far a-s Hie Executive arc aware the affairs of the Association for the season just, closed have run very smoothly and the Testers are to bo thanked for the interest they have taken in their "work and the Association. The report and the balance sheet, which, showed a credit balance of £l9l 16s, were adopted. The election of officers for the ensuing year resulted as follows: Presi-

dent, Mr H. G. Carter (re-elected); Vice-President, Air P, O’Regan (reelected); Patron, Mr H, AA r . Kitchingham (re-elected); Management Committee, Messrs O’Regan, AVatt, Teasdale (Grey A r alley), James, Baird, Whitmore (Rotomanu), Blunt (Barrytown), AfcKay, Searle, Kirby (South Westland), Alulcare (Ngahere)- —the Arahura-Kokataki-Tercma.kau Branch is to nominate its own three members of the Committee; Hon. Auditor, M.r A. McDonnell (re-elected); Emergency Committee, President, Secretary and Mr Alulcare. A vote of thanks was passed to Air AfcDonncU for his services as honorary auditor for the. past year. On the recommendation of the Executive Committee it was decided that a charge be made’ for calf-marking this year, and that the charge bo Is for members testing, and 2s 6d for members Avho had dropped out, but who were entitled to have their calves marked for one year. The Executive’s recommendation that the following charges be made for testing this year was adopted:—l to 40 cows, 4s (id per cow; 41—60, 4s per cow; 61 and over, 3s 6d per cow. Mr Blakely read the Association’s I group averages for the year, and the following summary:— Top Herd. J. Alonk (Kokatahi), 38 cows. 389.97 fat, 2GI days; second herd, F. Jacobs (Alatai), 35—366.42— 241; third herd. Al. Alinehan (Cobden), ]5—347.77 —243; fourth herd, Smith Bros. (Koiterangi), 57—339.07 —261; fifth herd, J. Smith (Koiterangi), 34— 343.64 —268; E. Cooke (Kumara, Junction) 7—388.42 —275. Best Cow 1 in Association—J. Alulcare’s To]isy, P2yr. old, 708.0 fat in 296 days. Cows over 500 —J. Alonk and F. Jacobs (tiwo each), 1). J. Smith, 11. Hill, AL Minehan, J. Alulcare, Captain "Whitmore, A. Doig, D. Gallagher, F. C. Watts, Mrs Alethven, P Lucas, T. ATcßride, Smith Bros, (one each); total 16. Cows over 400—175; cows over 300 —1174. Ca.ptain AVhitmore —17 two-year heifers, average fat 279 in 244 days; his best; heifer 370 fat in 282 days. F. Jacobs—B two-year heifers, average far 29.5 in 25S days. Qualified two-year-olds (over 2501b5), 125; three-year-olds (over 2751b5), 210. Association average—l2B herds, 3.964 cows, 252.19 fat, 234 days. The President thanked Mr Blakely for the manner in which ho had drawn up and read the averages. It was decided, after some discussion, that the Executive Committee instruct the testers to have their organising done by the middle of August. On the motion of Air J. J. McKay, seconded by Air AVatt. it was decided that the next season extend until June .“>O, instead of Alar 31.