HIGH PRODUCTION

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 6 December 1938, Page 4

HIGH PRODUCTION

VALUE OF GOOD FOOD RELATION TO TESTING There arc many who argue that high production records count for nothing because they are put up under highly artificial conditions. On the other hand, there are men who do not feed Iheir cows adequately and it may be said that when some breeders improve the conditions for their animals simply because they are under test they arc merely giving them the conditions that they should have under ordinary circumstances.

The only reason why a cow is tested '.v to ascertain her inherited capacity to produce, and we do not learn that innerited capacity unless we feed her adequately; unless we give her the feed necessary to demonstrate her inherited capacity. Nothing would be gained by testing a cow if she did not receive enough feed to demonstrate what she j could do. Of course, this docs not. mean that the dairy farmer should plan a : campaign of feeding concentrates, but j rather should think out to what level he ; can raise the standard of his feeding in j order to arrive at the most economical 1 level of production. There seems to be in New Zealand a tendency to take things too much for granted as far as the feeding of our cattle is concerned. It is true that a little more care is now being taken in the tj r pe of grass that is being fed. but progress to date has been comparatively meagre. There is yet much to be done in regard to raising the quality of the grass feed, the stage of growth when it is fed and the question of supplying “balancing” food to nutritious grass.