Raising the Butterfat Record

Northland Age, Volume 1, Issue 9, 4 December 1931, Page 3

Raising the Butterfat Record

The world’s butter-fat record for three-year-old heifers has been raised by the production of an Oregon Jersey heifer, who gave the sensational yield for her age of 1042.811b5. of butterfat, eclipsing the previous record of 1030.791b5. The new recordholder, Renda’s Rosaire Tessie, is a cow of very striking appearance, with a tremendous feeding capacity, and though handled and milked by various farm-hands, her production was consistent throughout the season. GRASSLAND FARMING The formation of an association for the advancement of grassland farming at Palmerston North is a welcome sign of deepening interest in the subject, and we hope it will only be the first of a series. Of the 19 million acres “of cultivated lands” in New Zealand, 17 millions, or 88 percent, is in grass. To quote the Year Book, “grass is by far the most important crop to the farmer, the soils the climate and other natural conditions obtaining- in the Dominion being very favourable for the growth of grass.” Clearly it is just as important to improve the breed of our pastures as of the live stock that feed upon them. TO HELP THE FARMER A law embodying drastic tax reforms, designed for immediate relief to agriculture in Italy, has been passed by the Fascist parliament. The measure reduces the taxation levied directly on agriculture by some 600,000,000 lire, about £6,200,000. The tax levied by the local government bodies on farm livestock has also been considerably reduced and farmers will thereby effect a large saving. In Italy, as in many other countries, taxation problems had been greatly complicated by the ever - growingneeds of local government bodies. The need of an organic reform of the whole system was recognised in all quarters, and in 1928 a royal commission was appointed to study the matter and report to the Government. HELPING THE EGYPTIAN FARMER Ismail Sidky Pasha, Egypt’s Prime Minister, has repeatedly stated that, after balancing the budget, his chief concern is to pass measures for the benefit of the fellaheen who form 80 percent of Egypt’s 14,000,000 inhabitants. The world depression, especially the big slump in cotton, is affecting these peasant farmers, and owing to the high land rents which prevail, many are finding it difficult to make both ends meet. Every year more land is mortgaged to the European banks, and owing to the fellaheens’ incapacity often to pay the interest, much of their land is seized. The Government recently issued a loan of £2,000,000 to the recently established Agricultural Credit Bank, in order to prevent as many forced sales as possible. The Premier has also requested the Mixed Court to postpone as many of the cases as it can. The Agricultural Credit Bank helps the fellaheen by the issuance of loans at low rates of interest.