BREEDING FOR PROFIT

Manawatu Times, Volume 60, Issue 226, 25 September 1935, Page 12

BREEDING FOR PROFIT

Avoiding Waste in Feeding

of Stock

CULL LOW PRODUCERS

It pays better to have a small number of high producing cows than a large number of low producers. Although each individual high producer requires more food for producing the larger quantity of butter-fat, the individual low producer is more wasteful with its food, and uses a greater proportion of its food for maintenance than tho higher-yielding animal. This if an aspect of dairying which gome farmers are inclined to overlook, and it is only by considering this point that the greatest benefits can be derived from herd-testing. By finding out the low-producing members of his herd the farmer can eliminate these and utilise the feed that they would have consumed in feeding a smaller number of high producing cows which will give him a greater return than before.

Excellent illustration This point is excellently illustrated in au article appearing in the Journal of Agriculture, dealing' with economy in farm production. Alter touching on various ways in which waste can be eliminated the writer says:—

Another very common form of mismanagement in respect to outlay arises indirectly from wasteful utilisation of feed, whether it be purchased or grown on the farm. This occurs seriously at times when the feed which productive farm animals receive is much less than is needed to meet their joint maintenance and production requirements. This may be . illustrated readily by considering the requirements of a good dairy cow of about 10001 b. weight. Annually such a cow requires about 10 tons of grass or its equivalent for maintenance and about one ton of grass or its equivalent in addition for each 301 b. of butterfat produced, A consumption of 15 tons of grass annually gives enough nutriment, after maintenance requirements are satisfied; to allow of the production of 1501 b. of butterfat —i.e., 101 b. of butterfat for each ton of grass. Similarly, a consumption of 23 tons of grass allows of the production of 3901 b. of butterfat —i.e., 171 b. of butterfat for each ton of grass or its equivalent. The differences in the productivity of feed according to differences in its utilisation, as disclosed in this comparison, may seem somewhat extreme, but they appear at times to bo paralleled in practice.

Difference in Prdduction. The position may be stated in con Crete form as follows: Using cows of good productive capacity, 345 tons of grass or its equivalent could be fed at the rate of 15 tons annually to each of 23 cows, which from such a feed supply would produce a total of 34501 b. of butterfat, or it could be fed at the Tate of 23 tons to each of 15 cows which could produce oSSOIb. of butterfat. The difference in production is due primarily to the fact that in the former system of feeding 80 tons more than in the latter are used solely for maintenances and thereby are “wasted” relative to butterfat production. Commonly in other branches of farming, among which pig-keeping and lamb-rearing may well be cited, feed is similarly wasted in that an unduly small proportion of it is available for production, because conversely, an unduly heavy proportion is required for maintenance. Much the greatest and an easily corrected cause of an unsatisfactory relation between feed required for maintenance and feed required for production is failure to plan ahead the provision of feed to meet the requirements of stock from One season to another.