FARM and DAIRY

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 22 November 1924, Page 11

FARM and DAIRY

■NOTES BY THE WAY. The dairy farmers of the Dominion are experiencing a most favourable season, according to Mr W. E. Gwiiiiam, Assistant Director of the Dairy Division of tne Agricultural Department. Mr Gwilliam informed a Domuonion reporter that butter and cheese were agricultural products, just 'as were wool and frozen meat, ana favourable seasons were required for their maximum. production. The present season, unlike that of last year, had been most propitious. The climatic conditions had been normal, and generous rains had ensured an abundance of grass of the right quality. Both in quality and quantity the dairying returns promised to be in advance of those recorded for some time past. The present season would see a big stride ronvardi in the output of both butter and cheese in the Dominion;

Passengers returning by the Makura complain of the wretchedly wet summer experienced' in Britain (says the New Zealand Herald). The/ weather quite spoiled projected tours. A strange fact was that, for all the rain over the rest.of the country, John o’ Groats, the northernmost point of Scotland, was suffering from a prolonged drought. Those who made their way so far alield found that they had to go without baths, as the water supply had run low. But once back to inverhess they were again in the rain belt, whicn seemed to. stretch rigiit to Land’s End. A Middle White sow and litter made 96 guineas at auction at Qrediton, Devonshire, recently. This was Choice of .Hammond’s 4th, and a litter of eight an foot, a magnificent sow of the Histon Choice family. Hammond’s Humorist, the stock boar, made 67 guineas.

At a sale of Jerseys from the herd of Mr It. W. Carson, at Lea Hall, Essex, in September, the top price, 130 guineas, was paid for Lynn’s Tern Lady 2nd. A prize-winner in War Bread’s Beauty made 100 guineas. Thirty cows and several heifers averaged £45 3s. Mr N. Roderick, of Mount Taylor, near Bairnsdale, has three very prolific sows. One sow produced 21 in one. litter, another 17, and a third 13, a total of 51 for three litters. They are Berkshire sows, and their litters wetre sired by Goomalibee Fancy, a half-brother to the champion Berkshire boar of Australia. . EXAMINE THE UDDER

When you are estimating the quality of a cow’s udder an actual examination is absolutely necessary. We have found by extended experience that before buying a cow it always pays to go over every part of tlie udder with the hands. Gentle* massage (says a writer in The Breeders’ Gazette) will locate every lump and hard spot. Such tumor-like .places or “bunches” in an udder tell the story of past attacks of inflammation, slight or severe, and indicate the likelihood of a recurrence of the attack at a subsequent calving. They should also lead one carefully to examine the milk from each teat in turn into the palm of the hand, and if there seems to be no sign of abnormality one may next venture to haste tlie emulsion. The quarter that contains a tumor or scaj„ tissue lias been attacked at some time in its history, and will be subject to further attacks. In some instances tuberculosis of the udder is present, especially where the lump is high up at the rear of the udder. Testing with tuhsrculin should therefore be clone without . fail when hard, insensitive lumps are felt in an udder. It is also unsafe to buy a “three-teater” cow, or one whose- milk is abnormal in any way, for infection possibly may from such a cow to the others in the herd. ' A careful manual examination of the udder in all of its parts, ancl as to th© quality of the milk yielded, is of paramount importance before money is invested in a cow, and never should be neglected. SYSTEM ON THE FARM. In successful farm management, 'system and organisation are two great watchwords. They enable work to be done more quickly, more thoroughly, and more surely and with less expenditure of money and effort. They have transformed many a farm from a place of hurry and bustle for many long hours, to a place smooth in its running and organised in every effort wherever required labour is performed at a specific time and in a definite manner. System and organisation are just as important on a dairy farm as they are in any other business. They constitute main lines that are necessary if the greatest success is to be obtained. At the head of the list in systematic management stands the plan of the. day’s work. This is .really the backbone of the farm business. We may have land and barns and cows and a splendid market for our products, yet without hard, everyday labour they woufd be as naught. A systematic plan enables a man or set of men to accomplish more in a day. A place for everything and everything in its place; a time for everything, and doing everything at that time, constitutes a very good motto under which work may be planned and executed.

In feeding operations splendid results are secured from systematic practices. The most carefully planned farms are carrying more cows for a given area than are farms where there is no regular plan followed. By careful planning a man is enabled to have a perfect balance of everything. Under a carefully worked out system of cropping the farm does not run short of home-grown feeds at any critical time. System puts everything on a business basis. It enables a man to. know his income and to figure his profit. Systematic, well-planned methods of management mean success.

System has it s place in herd improvement. Tlie greatest breeders and improvers of live stock have planned their work and have everlastingly followed methods which they had carefully outlined.' Persistent* use of the Babcock tester is necessary if a dairyman is to determine which cows are most desirable as breeders. Systematic work in this will eliminate the tinprofitable cows and will enable a man to retain only the ones that are profitable. Herds have doubled their production as a result of testing for a few years. System is said to be organised effort. That being the case, it has everything to its commendation and nothing to its condemnation. Hence system on any farm is to be welcomed and not to be shunned. DAIRY INDUSTRY 7 .

MILKING RECORDS, CULLING AND OTHER QUESTIONS.

The members of tlie; Otakeho branch of the Farmers’ Union are the keenest debaters on the Coast, if not further afield. Their meetings are always marked by general discussions on all manner of subjects which concern the farmer, and many most useful suggestions and ideas have emenated from that most progressive branch. One could imagine they were all Scotsmen from the love they evince for argument. This characteristic was shown markedly after a lecture delivered some weeks ago by Mr. W. M. Singleton, head of the Dairy Division. They fired questions at him till that genial, popular, and most efficient and capable member of a Government Department which lias done, and is doing, a very great service for dairy farmers, said'it was almost Jike being asked to give a second lecture answering all he was asked. But his equable temperament and a saving grace of humour brought him through, to the utmost satisfaction of all and to the high credit of himself. Mr. R. Dunn offered the opinion that the average production, according to statistics supplied, was not a true indication of the cows actually milked. Apparently all cows over a certain age were reckoned as cows in milk. There were a great many cows not put into the association testing, yet the whole were computed in compiling the aggregate average. He did .not know whether this system was adopted in Denmark, but if a different scheme were followed was no wonder a better average could he maintained.

Mr. Singleton said -the average of dry cows would be approximately between 9 and 11 per cent. Speaking from memory, he thought the average per cow actually in milk was about 1891 b. The Danish average had in some years been a little below, and in others a. little above, 2001 b; He had not the average l for the whole of Denmark, but merely the figures as given in, certain associations and districts. Summing up the position, it would appear that the New Zealand average would show a more falourable comparison than they had been led ito. believe. Mr. Dunn, in the course of some further remarks regarding testing, thought that the advice given by cer- . authorities that all cows below a certain average should be culled, and those below 1501 b should be branded, was unreasonable, as a figure which might he considered poor in one district would possibly be regarded as a fairly good standard in another.

In reply, Mr. Singleton said the question of the disposal of culls bad received much consideration, one suggestion having been branding. The motive had been to give subsequent buyers an indication of previous experience with the beast. There were, however, only 12 per cent, of cows tested in New Zealand, and it was hardly fair to expect a man who tested to so brand his culls when his neighbour who did not test, and probably included in his herd quite as many inferior animals, did not do so Replying to Mr. Bennet’s query concerning the adoption of one day in place of two days’ testing, the latter being, in his opinion, more satisfactory, Mr. Singleton said it was a question of economy. A commission set up in 1921 had reviewed departmental accounts, as the result of which they had been compelled to reduce testing expenses. They did not wish to raise fees, and so decrease testing, so had endeavoured to effect the necessary economy by curtailing visits. At the same time he preferred the tests over the longer period, as they would Necessarily be more exact, and would be

particularly valuable in the case of records of pedigrees. Answering a further question, Mr. Singleton said that if a cow calved subsequent to test it would qualify for a second class certificate, provided* that all other incidents were correct.

A question relating to pasteurisation brought the response that it could be looked upon as a good insurance policy. Sixty-five per cent, of cheese 'n New Zealand last season had been made from pasteurised milk. Checks made showed that 68 per cent, of cheese made from pasteurised milk had been favourable, whereas from unpa&teuriscd milk only 32 per cent, had been favourable. With absolute clean iiness good cheese could be made without pasteurisation, but the trouble was that without it purity could not always be guaranteed.

Answering a further question, Air. Singleton said the yield 'and quality of cheese depended upon the percentage of fat and casein in milk, the percentage of water retained in the cheese, and other matters incidental to manufacture. The introduction of Jersey blood among herds would probably have the effect of reducing the proportion of caseim Milk from that strain showed .54 to .55 of casein to each lb of fat, whereas from others, such as the Shorthorns> Friesians, and Ayrshires, it would be about .65. As. however, there were many factors to be taken into consideration, it was amost impossible to state definitely the effect of the variations. Referring to comparative grading in New Zealand and Great Britain, *Mr. singleton said the New Zealand standard was in accordance with the Home lequirements, and was usually accepted thei e; but a proviso existed that where a manifest error had taken place it was left open to arbitration.

THE DAIRY INDUSTRY

DANISH METHODS.

NEED FOR DEVELOPMENT.

VIEWS OF A DANISH EXPERT

It is always useful whenever .an opportunity occurs to get first-hand some idea, of the methods in vague in other countries where dairying plays an important part in the life of the; people. In this way much useful information may be gathered by which better resuits may bo made j)° s sible, for, from the experiences of a country where dairying has gone ahead to such an extent that this progress and development has placed in tlie van of the industry, much may be learnt that will help the dairy farmers of the country. It was therefore of very great interest to meet at Hawera on Thursday Mr S. Sorenson, a. gentleman who comes right from the headquarters of the. industry in Denmark, attached as he is to the Danish . Government ,as agricultural adviser, and with the additional weight of his being attached t'o the Danish Legation at Washington '(U.S.A.). It may be mentioned also that the enterprise of the Danish Government is shown by the fact that M. Sorenson is travelling to all the leading dairying countries in search, of information by which they may improve their already progressive and' enlightened methods. This fact shows how keen they are to. secure the very best and most up-to-date methods, and to omit no means c,f’ maintaining the position they have secured in the dairying world. In ’ the course of .a very interesting conversation with a representative of the Star, M. Sorenson first expressed the pleasure he felt at seeing so much of New Zealand, in every part of which he had been made most welcome and given every opportunity by the officers' of. the Agricultural Department and by' dairy farmers in all parts to see; the country, and to examine the methods employed by them on their farms and in their factories. He was expressly appreciative of the kindness and courtesy shown him by Mr Singleton, and said he considered New Zealand was extremely. fortunate in having a man of his calibre and qualifications in charge of the Dairy Division. With Mr Singleton he had.visited the Royal Show and several others in the South Island, and also had seen factories in the. South.

In Taranaki, besides seeing factories and being present at the show, he. had been fortunate in attending the annual meeting of the Dairy Factory Managers 4 Association. This latter he had been very pleased to attend, because he had met some of the men who ; 'were doing such excellent work in the very practical part c>f the business. He had been very much impressed with the great results achieved in the production side of the industry in New Zealand, and was pleased to learn that development had been made in the scientific aspect, and that much greater developments were projected hr the fufuture. He said it was impossible to stress too much the need for this work. In Denmark they had advanced far along this line of research, and had found by experience its great value. They had in Denmark, said Mr Sorenson, about fifteen hundred factories, mostly small and with a. modest output, and. generally speaking, much smaller than the large concerns in New Zealand. But they were very thorough, in their work, and aimed at maintaining the very highest quality in their output so as to keep their position in the outside world to which the produce was sent. In Denmark, continued Mr Sorenson, holdings were generally small and farmed very intensively. This was necessary because for a large portion of the year they hand-fed their cattle, using various crops, such as sorghum and maize and also ensilage and concentrated foods. They might pasture the herd from the middle of May until November, the rest of the year handfeeding would be in vogue. From this it would be seen that there was comparativelv little waste la ml, and that they made special efforts to see that whatever could be cultivated was used for their dairy herds. The system of disposal was arranged by a committee comprising producers' and merchants, and by them prices were fixed week by week. Mr Sorenson said he had the pleasure of meeting the delegation from the New Zealand Beard of Control in America, and had been keenly interested in discussing with them the prospects for the future, and how the two countries could best work together for the common good. “In fact,” he added, “co-operation, which is so strong and directly a force in my country, much stronger probably than in vouts, should he brought into the relations between us. That is one of the reasons for my taking this tour of the dairy producing countries of the world.”

AGRICULTURE FOR THE NATIVES Writing after his trip to South Africa. Mr. E. J. Howard. M.R.. says of the work amongst the natives : —“We have sufficient “orders,” medals and decorations amongst this delegation to fill a decent-sized hath. So no one is surprised when the order is given “evening clothes” and decorations. There is just a touch of snobbery about this fit-up, but I suppose there is also a, touch, of jealousy because, like Cinderella, I have no “glad rags.” However, when they were all on Solomon wouldn’t dare show his face before the crowd. At Bloem-

fontein “glad rags and ironmongery” was the order, and we had a great time. Viscount Burnham is a short, stout, pleasant gentleman with a Prince of Wales smiley speaks well and often, and is a jolly good leader. He sports' a row of medals as Commander of the Legion of Honour, Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold 11., Commander of the Order of Leopold, Grand Order’ of the Crown of Italy, Grand Officer of the Star; of Rumania, and some others. Then we have generals, colonels, captains and a few knights. One youngster asked if it was a circus, As a rule they ,eat in their ordinary clothes, but when the spirit moves them, then there is some bustling in the luggage van. To-day is Sunday and from my point of view we have struck the most hopeful sign since we have been in this country.

At a place called Buttmvorth, on the road towards East London, we visited an experimental farm at Tekoe. The farm and college are for natives only. It is a splendid farm, and although drought conditions are prevailing one could easily see what the effect of rain would lie on this land. Tekoe is in the Transkeian Territory. The farm is to teach the natives the science of I should he an authority after fourteen days, that the hope of South Africa is to get the natives busy in growing their own food and ’Sufficient to exchange some. At present they grow an average of a hag and' a half) of mealie to 'the acre. The principal of the college said the land would grow twenty, hut if, they would only grow ten it would work wonders. All day we have been pounding along through hungry-looking country, with hundreds of native kraals in sight and thousands of children. This territory, said the magistrate for the district, in 1890 had two and a half million natives. Today it has six and a half million. It appears to me to be the white man’s mission not to exploit the native, hut to teach him to become useful to the world. The native is breeding fast. A hungry man is a. savage man. If he is not taught to produce liis own food then he will eat the white’s. The Hon. Mr. Thomas said in a farewell speech at the Cape that this is not a poor man’s country, that men with capital could come bore and make good. That is all very well, Almost every country in the world today can absorb and is’ holding out its a rms to men with capital. Britain has a million and a half of unemployed. If South Africa cannot offer any opening for those workless men and women, then the next best thing is to encourage the natives to grow more foodstuffs and to spare. I am not prepared to say that South Africa could take any of Britain’s unemployed. I don’t know. The speculator is here as elsewhere. If he can grab the land he does so and then “squats” on it, that is, waits. •'

Well, at Tekoe native farm thesfi black brethren are taught the science of agriculture, that a “crook” cow eats as much grass as a good one - , and that the best/fodder to grow is that best suited to the locality. At the hack of these black faces there are. brains. Thev have proved that over and over again in their fighting. So the Government is doing the right thing. I think, in what they are doing here. Miles and miles of country, dry as a. prohibition centre, and yet not near as dry. as the centre of Australia during their drought years. PROMOTION. A. very pompous farmer was made a justice of the peace, and he was so im-

pressed with the tremendous dignity of his position that the'village where he lived was much too small to contain him. As he was swaggering along the road .with his very important nose in the air, he walked into a barrow belonging to an old woman. “Be careful where you’re going, man!” she (cried. “Woman,”- replied the indignant farmer, “I’m no longer a man; I’m a magistrate!” - HUMOUR, MORE OR LESS. “-3000 stock ewes at Hereford market. Sale will commence with the Shropshires at 11 a.m. All sheep are particularly requested to be in the pens by 10 ■a. m., ” states a country' paper. —■ None of your, rodeo manners at Hereford, says Punch. Visitor (absorbed in looking at milkmaid) : “By Jove, she’s a beauty, isn’t she?” Farmer (referring to cow); “Ain’t she? Refused thirty quid for her only last week.” CURED IN ANY CASE. Old Jack Jobson kept a large number of pigs. One day one of the porkers was taken very ill. Jack called in one of the neighbours to ask his advice. ’ “Do you think?” inquired Jack, “that pig will get better?” “Well,” said his friend, “whether it does or not, it will be cured in any case!” - HOW TO GET RESULTS.

Concluding a valuable article on culling a Government official says: “To sum up the whole question'of culling, all that need be said it: Breed from the best cows you can obtain’;' hut don’t he blinded hv pedigree when testing. Makes no excuses foi' an unprofitable cow, if after the first year she fails to give results. If farmers will cull thoroughly when they know from testing what each cow is producing,-they will gain the best results, hut not otherwise.”