HERD TESTING

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 168, 17 June 1936, Page 9

HERD TESTING

THE YEAR’S ACTIVITIES. Per Press Association. NAPIER, June 16. Activities of the Dominion Group Herd Testing Federation during the past season were reviewed by the piesident, Mr G. H. Bell, of Oakura, Taranaki, at the annual meeting of tiw federation to-day. Since February last the regulation and control of group herd testing have been vested in the Dairy Board, the headquarters of tile lederation having been transferred from Hamilton to Wellington. Mr Bel] said he was convinced that the new scheme of control would prove to be in the best interests of herd recording and therefore to the benefit of tile industry generally. The total number of cows charged for the past season, said Mr Bell, was 221,196, as against 233,570 lor the previous season. In many districts the late winter was most severe and it undoubtedly had an adverse effect on membership for the 1935-36 season. In addition, many farmers had been seriiously affected by the low price for butterfat ruling for some years past. Nine of the associations showed an increase of cows under test as compared with the previous season. He was of opinion that ths>y had now touched bottom, so far as the movement was concerned, and that in'.future they could confidently expect an increase in the number of herds under te6t. The advent of the guaranteed price should prove a strong factor in encouraging many who had dropped testing during the past three years to again come into the movement. With years of experience on which to form his judgment, he unhesitatingly declared that as a breeder testing had paid him, and as a dairy-farmer testing had returned him his testing fees many times over. The progress of the federation was shown in the following figures:

1935-36 28 221,196 No changes had been made since the last meeting, the membership standing at 28 associations. 18 in the North Island and 10 in the South Island. Levies for the season amounted to £460 16s 7d, as against £487 2s 8d for the previous season. A payment had been made to the Dairy Board of £IOOO.

Season Associations Group cows 1926-27 8 88,549 1927-28 12 122.613 1928-29 21 193.762 1929-30 22 224.170 1930-31 26 227,308 1931-32 28 222,341 1932-33 28 241,508 1933-34 28 258,486 1934-35 28 233.831