COW-TESTING ASSOCIATIONS

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue LXXIV, 22 August 1919, Page 3

COW-TESTING ASSOCIATIONS

Apparently cow-testing associations are going to be more generally established in Taranaki this year than ever before. Most of the larger factories will have their own associations, and some of the smaller ones are trying to co-operate in groups to establish cowtesting associations. Speaking of the project at the Kakaramea meeting, Mr Boyle said that he knew of one large herd where the average had been increased from 1701b to 2701b of fat per cow. If the average of all the cows supplying Kakaramea were corresponding increased it would represent £8000 a year to.the factory. Mr Buckeridge added that a record from Kaupokonui had just come under his notice. A herd there had averaged 4161b of fat, and this at 2s meant £41 12s per cow. This was entirely due to the testing association that had been in vogue there for some time enabling this farmer to weed out all his poor cows. Mr Pearee said that the trouble with a great many farmers was that they still persisted in buying an old scrub ,of a bull to mnte with their 3001b cows. They did not intend to keep the calves themselves, so did not care what the progeny would be so long as they could get £7 or £8 from the freezing works for that bull when finished with. How could they expect |to increase their standard of butterfat production so long as that sort of thing went on. Farmers should make a point of securing a pedigree bull with good butter-fat records behind him.