REARING CALVES FOR GRAZING

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1695, 24 August 1904, Page 67

REARING CALVES FOR GRAZING

Calf-rearing lias increased in importance vastly during the jiast twenty years; not m.iiely owing to the dissemination of nmre pure blood into, ordinary herds having made calves in general more valuable io rear, but because graziers have urgently wanted both better anil cncaper raw material to work with than formerly, and those who had their wits about them and were able to fathom the depth of triii.gs found that they could make sure of getting this only in one way, that of providing themselves with caives capable of laying on flesh rapidly, and arriving early to maturity for beef by in iter, mg while in active growth. The new number of the “Journal of the Board of Agriculture” contains among l.s miscellaneous notes an interesting example ol how an experienced, iineiiigiJit oc.ks grazier carried out the eysten.. in iotto. Mr Ceorge Prentice, of L iresmre, purchased 80 Butch yearling heitbif., anu uiuced with them a Shorthorn bull eiirly enough for them to yield iheir fi.si calve* in March the following yeai. ..lm they had suckled their cam s lour tuunois the latter were weaued ana .diner purchased baby calves were suckled b.y the heifers uuring the rein an. aer oi the year. When, the heifers yielded tneir second calves they were made to sue me ..we instead of one at the same time, and, at the end of four months. Uie.se were taken away as ; n the lormer case, and piirchased baby caives. two for each heifer, took their place. Thus ihese 30 lieifers at their first year reared flj grazing beeves and in their see md year 12u. Dutch or .uolsiein heifers were chosen because of their heavy-milking reputation. and in working his system Mr Prentice int nded to import a certain number every .year, but was prevented from carrying out that onject by the passing of the pres an Act of Parliament, which does not allow any cattie to be imported except for slaughter. He has, however, so far from abandoning the system itself, found great profit from adhering to it ever sii.ee. his own statement in regard, to this being: “The owner of this herd confesses that mere than once he has been tempted to give up his system, but, when the time came for disposing of his stock, he has always found himself amply repaid tor all his trouble by the prices he has got for his fat stock, and the saving of heavy outlay in the purchase of feeding stock.” In 1903, Mr Prentice netted an average of AlB each for his fat s.eers, and <£ls each for his heifers, all disposed of between twenty-two and tweniy-s.x months old. Other graziers have worked the same system with deep-milking ordinary crossbred cows and heifers, many of which have reared successfully as many ab five calves a year.' But there is no absolute necessity for the grazier to breed himself or co make use of any cows or heifers to yield milk for ~caif-rearage. If he can only buy enough baby calves of the rjqdit character of dairy-farmers, cottagers, etc., it would be possible to rear them on milk substitutes, not equally well, perhaps, but with sufficient success in the soups being relished, and the calves becoming thrifty and robust to make rapid development after being able to partake of sume solid food. The chief difficulty in working the system of early-maturity beef-making either, way would be that of procuring calves which bad been sired by a pedigree bull, which was what really at times made Mr Prentice disheartened. This could, of course, be fully met if the large class of dairy-farmers who at present always get rid of their young calves as soon as possible coulu be induced to keep pedigree bulls in their herds. Contracts would, perhaps, be needful between the respective parties; but it would pay many a grazier handsomely to provide himself a pure-bred bull for any dairy-fanner’s herd, whose calves would be sufficient in. number and could be had at from four to ten days old at; a satisfactory price, to carry out the object. A yearling would grow into money on gratuitous keep.