MILK STATISTICS

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1715, 11 January 1905, Page 68

MILK STATISTICS

The Royal Statistical Society has been investigating the subject of the milk yield of the cows of the three kingdoms, and a summary of their findings is interesting. The total number of cows and heifers in milk or in calf is 4,103,000, and the average net yield per head is put at 420 imperial gallons. A writer m one of the stock papers points out, however, that the above number of animals included about 300,000 heifers, which, though in calf, have never yielded milk, and that, therefore, the true cow population only amounts to 3,800,000, with a yield of 432 gallons per head. Another estimate puts the yield at only 400 gallons annually; bo that, generally speaking, it appears the yield will be from 400 to 430 gallons. The society above named put the yield of the Irish cows at 30 gallons per head less than those of Great Britain, but others reckon their yield as quite equal to the latter. It is estimated that 10 per cent, of the new milk is consumed

calves, leaving, say, only 360 gallons per head as available produce. Another interesting point is an estimate of the mortality. A little over 4 per cent, of cows die annually freon disease or mishaps, and about 20 per cent, are fatted and sold off, so that only, say, 75 per cent, of the cotvs come round into use in the succeeding year. This means that one out of every four of our cows drops out from various causes — deaths, old age, barrenness, etc. —a very heavy bill indeed. The yields above given are a very long way below the published records of some herds, and as they are averages it follows that about half of the cows are very poor milkers indeed, and there is great room for improvement. When we read of herds which are regularly tested, and where from 50 to 80 cows may average anywhere from 600 to 1000 gallons per head per annum, it means that we have a long way yet to go before our cows are up to the mark.