The NORTHLAND FARMER

Northern Advocate, 12 June 1937, Page 11

The NORTHLAND FARMER

Edited By C. E.' Cum

The Profitable Cow. The importance of a good constitution is too apt to be overlooked, yet H is indispensable to assure a profitable milking cow. Not only should robust health be shown in the individual animal at a glance, but be traceable back in the ancestors, because atavism in cattle often comes to the surface. The cow needs, then, to be unquestionably healthy and to possess strong digestive powers, so as in the best manner to convert the food given her into rich milk. Such attributes, too, enable her to bear and well nourish a calf every year, and thus prbpagate healthy offspring. She needs to deal with her food somewhat differently from the bullocks and heifers that are for the butcher, and must*: convert, her rations into milk so far as may be* allowing for her own condi-

A page prepared for the purpose of helping the Northland farmer to make the utmost use of the remarkable advantages which Nature has mb bestowed on Northland, and thereby 1 to develop the most fertile territory sb in New Zealand.

tion being kept up although it will prove profitable if she will make a decent carcase for the block when her milking career is over. A weakly constitutioned cow rarely milks well, neither does she breed good stock, or eventually acquit herself well for the butcher. A healthy cow should be always either eating, drinking, ruminating or sleeping. The nose should be covered with moisture, like small dew drops, and saliva be frequently seen hanging in silver threads from her nose or mouth. There is rarely much the matter with a cow that chews her cud. She should have - a well-filled and rounded barrel. And if, in her sleeping, there be such loud grunting as may be heard at a distance —that tells of happiness and thriving. The healthy cow herds with her companions, but the one that is amiss shuns them.

Farmyard Manure. Phosphoric acid is the. least abundant manurial constituent of farmyard manure; one ton will, as a rule, contain not more than about 81bs, and often not more than 51bs of this substance. A friend spread his shed manure heavily on a sandy useless patch of sandy soil. There was a very rank growth but even bullocks sickened on it. Then he put a good dressing of super on the land, and before long that little spot was regarded as the richest on the farm. '

‘Use of the Roller. The use of the roller, especially on high country, is not as general in New Zealand as it should be. An experiment was recently made in Germany to test the value of the roller on high, poor meadows. Taking the yield cf the unrolled portion as 100, the yield of the portion rolled three times annually since 1930 was 144, the yield of the portion rolled twice a year was 139, and the yield of that rolled only once a year was 121. Linseed Oil. In former days linseed oil was used very much more than it is used today as a medicine for farm animals. It was a common drench. If ever there was a cow with a hard or an inflamed quarter, linseed oil. at the rate of

about a quart a day, was immediately given. This amount was administered in either one or two doses and the treatment was continued for two or three days. And treating hard or inflamed quarters in this way at once is the best way of warding off more serious trouble. Many prefer the usual salts and molasses, drench, and certainly with this drench the important objective is achieved of providing essential minerals with the needed corrective. • Milk Problem In England, The view of the British National Farmers’ Union is that post-war experience has demonstrated the importance of devising measures for the maintenance and expansion of home food production, and that this is just as important from the standpoint of the Dominions, to whom second place on the British market has been conceded. The measure of stability enjoyed, by milk producers during 14 years is claimed by a British farming journal to be wholly due to the work of the union in the days of the Permanent Joint Committee, and later by the launching of the milk marketing scheme. When cereal production became unprofitable, many cereal growers switched over to milk production, and so aggravated the surplus milk problem. The cereal situation was eased by the passing of a Wheat Act, but the collapse of beef prices immediately created a tendency for beef producers to switch over to dairying. The result was seen in the very serious problem that surplus milk now presented to the Milk Marketing Board. The greatest difficulties which the Milk Marketing Board has had to face have risen in connection with milk prices, and, according to the views of the National Farmers’ Union, it is essential that the country’s treaty commitments should be revised at the earliest possible date to enable that regulation of imports to be effected. The Milk Act was welcomed by producers as an emergency measure, but it has become increasingly obvious according to the union “that in the best interest of producers and consumers a! levy With a preference to the Dominions should be imposed on all competing imports of milk products and that the proceeds of the levy should be applied to maintaining reasonable price levels for milk which goes into manufacture.”

Clean Milk Competition. Recently a clean milk competition was held in Victoria, Australia. The competition was promoted in the hope and expectation of demonstrating to dairy farmers the advantages accruing from correct dairy practice and attention to sanitation. It was believed that the observance of the essentials in the production of clean milk was within the power of every dairy farmer, however limited his means, and with this in mind the scale for the allocation of points was drawn up. The outcome of the competition, the judges report, has proved this belief to be right, for where due regard was given to sanitation in lay-out and drainage, the most effective results were obtained from clean milking methods and thorough sterilisation of utensils. If a man failed in these particulars, elaborate buildings counted for nothing. The English scheme for the conduct of clean milk competitions was taken as a model, but to simplify the judging this was modified and scoring points were divided into six sections: —fl) Health of cows; (2) absence of mammitis; (3)

equipment; (4) dairy practice; (5) wad test; (6) bacterial count. In the second quarter of the year a round of purely advisory inspections was made, and competitors proved eager to adopt suggestions. Judging inspections were made during July, August and September. An analysis of the scale of points shows that methods and milk quality counted for more than elaborate equipment, a condition which gave the man with premises of a medium structural standard a sporting chance in competition with the man with first-class premises. One of the most valuable factors in' the improvement of milking methods, the judges reported, was the wad test. This was carried out at milking time by means of a sediment “gun.” Samples were taken from individual unstrained milkings, the resulting wads being used as a basis to determine the score for the wad test. This phase of the competition proved an object lesson to the milkers and created a healthy spirit of rivalry. Where the lesson was taken to heart a great improvement was' effected, as was shown when later samples were taken. A sample was also taken from the bulk strained milk, and tested to determine the efficiency of straining. From this section of the competition a very noteworthy fact emerged. Where a feed room is attached to a milking shed, it is useless to expect a satisfactory wad, unless there is an adequate dust-proof partition between chaff-house and bailes. Similar cleanmilk competitions fin New Zealand would probably do much to raise the standard of our raw product.

Drench the Cows, The most important thing on the dairy .farm at the present time is the preparation of the cows for the coming season. It is at such a time that they should receive better treatment than at any time in the year. It is a great advantage if they can be given some live grass in the leaf stage, for the great need of an animal at such a time is easily digested food. Immediately before calving the cows should have a drench. The molasses drench has definitely proved its efficacy. This is made of 21b of slaked lime and 41b of molasses mixed with their own volume of water. This should be well shaken and left overnight. In the morning it should be strained. This quantity will make four drenches. The drench recommended by a Poverty Bay farmer, and published last year in these columns, is made up as follows* —10 to 12 packets Epsom salts, but up to 15 to 16 for large cattle, a teaspoonful of strong iodine, a tablespoonful of ground ginger and a cup of molasses. Subsequent doses should be given without the salts. Russian Menace. The possibility of Russian trade assuming menacing proportions on the London dairy produce market is referred to in a letter to the Australian Produce Board from its London manager, who writes:—“Russia these days is a factor difficult to assess in endeavouring to arrive at an idea of future arrivals. Their stocks and shipments, too, until a few days prior to arrival, are closely guarded secrets. From the usually best informed source we were advised about the middle of December that shipments from Russia had finished for the season, but since then approximately 37,000 cwt have arrived here, and a further considerable shipment is expected this week. It would therefore appear that Russia is following the example of Australia and New Zealand, and regulating her shipments to avoid a glut and provide a continuity of supply for as great a part of the year as possible. If such be the case, Russia, with her unlimited scope for increased production during the grass period, and natural cool storage conditions in winter, is a factor which might quite easily assume menacing proportions, as far as this market is concerned, in the future. What Are We Doing? The Japanese can certainly grow trees—Japan is a tree-loving nation—and one can quite understand their apples being splendidly packed. Thus a formidable ritfal to the rapidly developing New Zealand trade is arising. And what is New Zealand doing? Certainly we have a very fine fruit experimental station at Nelson in the Cawthron Institute to assist the farmer in the control of fruit disease, and it has already accomplished valuable work, but what of the very important matter of taking this knowledge to the farmer and of training the fruit- . growing student? There is not an institution in the country where the art of fruit-growing can be studied, although fruit-growing requires more technical knowledge than perhaps any other rural industry. Fruit-growing is taught at neither .Massey College nor at Lincoln College, and Cawthron has no students. Thus nothing is beingdone to train either fruit-growers or experts. Who is to take the place of the orchard instructors already em- | ployed, and few of these men were

specially trained for their work? They were men generally employed in nurseries who had little or no knowledge of commercial fruit-growing when appointed to the Government service. Is this very unsatisfactory position to be continued? Yet at one time the Government did train students in fruitgrowing, and train them successfully—at Ruakura Farm of Instruction, and one of the students trained in those days has now a very successful commercial orchard in the Waikato district, with his own cool store. Eastern; Markets. Aberdeen Angus, Argentina, our great rival in the chilled beef trade, is attaching increased importance to the Aberdeen Angus breed. Some indication of the present popularity of the Aberdeen Anghs in Argentina is conveyed by the results; of the sale of the winning cattle at tlie recent show of the Rural Society of Argentina. Though prices were unsettled by the uncertainty about the beef agreement with Britain, the champion made 11,000 dollars (£800). the reserve champion making £360. The two-year-old champion, son of the Perth record-priced bull, acquired by an Argentine breeder at 3100 gns, made £SOO. The junior champion bull ipade £2BO and the reserve made £670, while another young winning bull realised £6OO.