FARM AND DAIRY

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 11 September 1926, Page 16

FARM AND DAIRY

NOTES BY THE WAY. Sanitation and cieaniinoss of yards «rwT Sheds are amongst tho first esstu ,T„St P M?.vi=g. - strict attention. Walls, anc>-partitions . in the sheds should bo scrapod and periodically -white-washed. The floon „ “S r k» ™she<l down nig]M «»d - m ofning-after each ' presence of gross dirt, disinfectants " of little avail. ' , . , A source of contagion from which • many-cows in a herd may infected with disease is from a filthy and 'contaminated milking machine. the hands of the milker also provide an equally good vehicle of contagion, particularly where the practice of wettm ß the hands with milk is in vogue. Dairy farmers in Hawke’s Bay are now taking a much greater interest in , improving their herds than f ° r ™ er J’ The-number of herds to be tested this year shows a large increase over previous seasons. Cleanliness of pig-styes and feeui g utensils, and the provision of good shelter and bedding in wet or cold are verv important points. Styes should be' constructed with proper drainage, and a well-sheltered site chosen where plenty of sunlight and natural protection from .the prevailing winds are en.surecl: * r * J * “Approximately 107,000 tons of 11™° were used in New Zealand last year for agricultural purposes and of this quaut.ity Southland farmers used 0/,000 tons.” . . “The object of using fertilisers is to enrich the soil. The loss sustained by removal of crops and -the grazing of animals must be made good or there . will be soil exhaustion. The use oi some form of fertiliser is becoming more and more a mark of modern agriculture. * * “When one travels round the country great waste is often met with in regard to the use of fertilisers,” said Mr B. Gillivray at Morton Mains the other day. ‘‘ At times expensive fertilisers are applied practically without reason. We can thus only arrive at the conclusion that tho basic principles, underlying manurial treatment, aTe not as yet sufficiently understood.” Speaking at the annual dinner of suppliers to the New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Company, in Hamilton, the managing director stated that the dairy company had invested £2500 in the New Zealand* Broadcasting Company. 'Farmers would realise the wisdom of this in view of the great part which wireless was destined to play in the future in the life of country settlers. “Personally, I think that land values in the Dominion have been falling gradually for a number of years, and in my opinion they will continue to go steadily down and down for the next 10 years,” said Mr Justice Osier in the Napier Supreme Court during the hearing of a case in which a fall in valued in landed property was alleged. • Beports from Poverty Bay state that owing to feed shortage at the commencement of* the winter large numbers of dairy cows have been sent out of that district, and it is anticipated confidently that there will be a keen demand shortly and that those farmers who were able, through ample supplies ' offered, to keep a few extra will reap a considerable gain. The history of a cow-testing association in Virginia, R.S.A., shows what can be done by reducing the size of a herd. One member who started with 31 cows, cut his herd to 20 cows after a year of testing and with the additional feed and care which he was thus able to provide, his 20 cows produced more butterfat than his original 31. The third year he reduced his herd still further) to only 10 cows, and they produced almost as much as tho original herd. The fourth' year he increased the herd to 20 cows and their production was more than twice as great as that of the original herd. Reducing the herd, however, is useless unless accompanied by better feeding and .care of the cows retained. A dairy cov? is an animal which produces most economically only when fed to her full capacity, and this is practically impossible on an over-stocked farm. Feed, care, and water are of far more value to a dairy herd than increased numbers of cows. According to Guenon, a noted French authority, the udder of a cow of-high order has, as a rule, but four teats, through occasionally we find two false teats which yield no milk, accompanying these. After years of exhaustive study this author declares that, while cows possessing six teats belong to the higher order, those possessing one false ipple with four normal teats invariably belong to the inferior order of the bovine species.

CLEAN MILK. Many chairmen of dairy factory directorates in different parts of.the Dominion have given strong and urgent advice, to suppliers to co-operate to the greatest extent with their managers to ensure clean supplies of milk, without which produce of the highest quality cannot be ensured. It is, as a fact, worth probably more than anything else at the present juncture when outside competition begins to press so hard and when new sources of supply are hemg explored. It is good to see that the big companies are taking a strong stand against receiving anything but the besit. If only suppliers could all realise the fact, it is most directly and practically to their own material benefit. Inis should make them realise the vital necessity for absolute cleanliness and care and that these practices pay them handsomely. And so they should, oy hook or by crook, get capital to enable them to secure the most approved sheds and surroundings. The cows will give clean milk. It is only the surroundings and the want of care which contaminate. Where it can be proved that suppliers are unable, through the pressure of high values, to seeure these essentials, would it not pay the companies to finance them? And would not landlords be acting in their own interests by adopting a similar policy and puttine in good up-to-date sheds and conveniences? Surely the milkers woulct respond. The Control Board apparently intend to pay out for high grade and "for superfine quality. This should make it worth while. The suggestion is made that a new era should be brought in, “to inspect, to instruct, and to insist,” so that the very best raw material shall be supplied.

SCOTTISH FARMER’S TRIBUTE TO RED POLLS.

One of the most interesting .accounts of the visit of British farmers to South Africa appears in the issue of the Dundee Courier of April 21, and is contributed by Mr John Stewart, of Ceres, who gives a descriptive account of what this big party of agriculturists saw on arriving in the Orange Free State,_±oltowing a 32 hours’ journey from Durban. Their visit to Bloemfontein, synchronised with the annual show of the Central Agricultural Society, which is the foremost live stock show in South Africa, and it is noteworthy that several of the visitors were invited to judge at this great show. He said: “Cattle made a large show, the Frieslands being the favourite milk breed. Shorthorns werp divided into two sections, beef and dairy, and many fine animals were forwarded. Red Polls were also numerous, and are coming into favour out here.” Then, proceeding to refer to the fat or slaughter oxen, Mr Stewart makes these comments: “A pen of cross Devon-Afrikanders was placed first. Thev were of very heavy weight and well finished. Red Polls had the second ticket. They were of lighter weights, but of much better quality, and would have made at least 5s per live cwt more in our markets.”

GOOD ADVICE

Lecturing on dairy farming recently, a Government expert in the south thus summed up his advice on general lines: “The herd-testing movement has other channels of progress opened up, not tho least of which is the duty which the dairymen owes to the boys and girls on the farm; it makes the dairy farmer more methodical, the work more instructive and interesting as well as more profitable. The young folk today are being educated along better lines in all classes .of employment. Guesswork and drudgery will never attract our boys and girls to the healthy independent life on the land which is so much desired in the Dominion. Mako an endeavour to interest our boys and t girls in the Business, and they will not wish to leave the country and fill tho towns-. Summed up, the six main points of successful dairying appear to me to bo as follows: — 1. Buy the best cow you can afford. 2. Buy the best butter-fat record sire. 3. Raise the heifer calves from your best producers. 4. Feed intelligently. 5. Give careful and kindly treatment. (5. Join a herd-testing association.

HOW RED POLLS FIRST WENT

TO U.S.A

The National Geographic Magazine recently gave what to Red Poll breeders is probably an unknown ■ happening with regard to the early importation o± Rpd Polls into America. The.writer says: “The persistence with which tno old Suffolk traits are transmitted, under what would seem adverse conditions, finds a striking illustration in what were known in Massachusetts as Jamestown cattle.’ In 1847, during the famine m Ireland, the people of Boston sent a shipload of provisions to that country, to relieve the distress. _As a token o± appreciation, a Mr Jeffries, living ceai Cork, presented to the captain, a Suffolk polled heifer. She was delivered by him to the donors of the provisions and was sold at auction for the benefit o± the fund. , . ' “This cow proved to be a remarkably fine milker and her progeny (mostly bulls by what were then known as Alderney sires), were largely used in the dairy herds around Boston. “The progeny of these half-blood Suffolk bulls were nearly all hornless, and were, so superior to the ordinary cattle of the district as to become noted. They derived the pseudonym Jamestown from the name of the vessel in which the heifer came over, and at several local fairs, were shown in considerable numbers. “A. W. Cheever, agricultural editor of The New England Parmer, acquired a small herd of them, and after 12 years’ experience, said: ‘We were thoroughly converted to a full faith in the superior qualities of the polled cow as a domestic animal. ” A great advantage of the Red Poll is w’hen it comes to feeding them, says an enthusiastic South African breeder, They require less feed to produce a given quantity of milk than other breeds. The Americans have proved it on scientific lines. And, also, when you have put your food -out in the cribs, you can turn the cows in with no fear of any damage being done with horns poking right and left as with horned cattle.

Another important consideration is that the Red Poll calves regularly every year, seldom missing a season, and sho will always milk up to the time of her next calf. Wo find it difficult to dry them off, so as to give them a run for a month or two before calving down again. Red Polls held their own at the London Dairy Show, and the six cows which were exhibited were sufficiently good in milk and butter production and in other particulars to be made reserve champions.

A GREAT BREED.

A breed ■which is coming to the fore in many parts of the world and which is making strides in the Dominion is the Red Poll. It is proving a remarkable utility breed, combining milk production with great constitution. In England, in America, and in South Africa they have gained much popularity.

HERD TESTING

PROGRESS IN NORTH TARANAKI

It is good to see that a distinctly forward move has been made in herd testing in North Taranaki. So successful were the operations _oi the Taranaki Herd .Testing Association during its initial season (says the Herald) «iat at a special meeting held last week it was decided to incorporate the association with the objects of: (a) The improvement of the sttindard of dairy cattle in the Dominion by systematic and efficient testing, the marking and registering <?f calves, the elimination of unpayable cows, the eradication oi scrub bulls, the encouragement of the use of purebred bulls bred ou the best butter-fat record, and any other means which may be deemed necessary or expedient; (b) The employment of efficient persons to caTry out testing operations ancl the administration of the society; (c) The purchase and disposal when necessary of all equipment for the testing of herds or the furtherance of the objects of the association or its administration.

Incorporation •will give the association a rise in status that will ensure its permanent establishment with Government recognition, and entitle - it to prembership in the proposed federation of herdtesting associations. The object of the federation is to secure uniformity of method and statv istics. The working of the different associations generally will be standardised and it will therefore be possible for the testing results in one district to have a definite value in another. Another consideration is that the Government subsidy will go to the recognised associations. The federation proposes to tattoo all calves from cows giving 3001bs of fat and over. ECONOMY IN MANURING. “The old idea that super makes the soil sour is founded on error. Soils that have had super applied to them yearly for over 40 years to-day show no greater degree of acidity than adjoining soils that have never received any super at all. ’ ’ “ On suitable soils basic slag is an excellent material for top-dressing grass lands but it must be applied early in the winter. ’ ’ “Lime is the great controller of fertility. ’ ’ “Economic manuring is manuring on a sound basis. Waste must be eliminated. As the physical conditions of the soil is improved heavier dressing of fertilisers will give payable returns.’ ’ “There is really no limit to the application of lime to the soil—unless it is a financial one.’’ Extracts from a lecture on “Economic Manuring,’’ by a southern instructor in agriculture recently delivered. SOIL CULTIVATION IN RAROTONGA. In a southern paper is. given a fine photograph of a group of “students with their farming implements,’’ taken by the publicity departmental officers. Reporting on the question of the natives, Mr .T. A. Valentine, after an inspectio.nal tour, remarks on the increased industry of the natives. He says, inter alia: — “The natives of the group are gradually acquiring most industrious habits, and are, as they always have been, cultivators of the soil. To-day their main source of revenue is their fruit production—oranges and bananas forming the chief crops. Acres of tomatoes are also raised—-the fruit being of fine quality. The tomatoes are imported into New Zealand during our winter month's, when New Zealand can produce none of her own. The tomato crops finish about the month of October.”