IMPROVING DAIRY HERDS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 8263, 28 October 1912, Page 8

IMPROVING DAIRY HERDS

At the smoke social in connection with th© Carterton show the other evening, Mr W M. Singleton. Assistant Dairy Commissioner. spoke hopefully of th© progress that is being mad© with the cow-teafincr movement in dairying centres. The associations formed for this purpose under the guidance of th© department were, ho said, gradually becoming self-supporting, and were being controlled solely by those interested. There was no doubt in me mind that individual cow-testing through the full period of lactation had come to stay, and it would not bo long before most of fho herds would be brought under its influence. By this means farmers had a good and reliable indication as to where the systematic culling of their herds should commence, so that progress on sound lines would bo guaranteed. Testing the cows, however, was only on© factor in improving the yield of herds, hut it was absolutely necessary to have th© data gained by this means before the next and most important nhas© of progress could be properly carried out. It would b© of very little use to farmers to know the best and worst cows if they had no sure means of improving the average yield of the herd. This was where the sire came in, and he strongly recommended that animals of known mllkrinp strains and performances should he used to head the herd. The trouble at present was to know where to obtain that sire. For answer he pointed to the advance that has been mad© during the year by several of the dairy cattle ©ocietinee in adopting the semi-official testing principle whereby all entrants to the herd books must give satisfactory proof of proficiency before being accepted for registration. There are already 200 cows undergoing the semi-final test, and he predicted that this number would bo multiplied years go by until Now Zealand has as largo a percentage of registered cattle of known as any other country. Mr Singleton asserted that the lone-porlod test was th© only correct one. and wnilc he admitted that short tests have dnnr some good, nothing short of a fa’l perV<* of lactation record, conducted up'V: natural conditions such as come with!the nrovin'’© of every farmer’s mctim wnn 7 d be convincing nnd deflate. He air * f ntod thet every should have a raj at least ovorv fifteen months. In so*-"-* countries he mentioned a cow underpin a milking te*>t was not served until he ’notation was nearly orcr. N farmer conld aTord to milk a ho-d these conditions therefore he believed i? eondneti* I** 1 ** all tests conditions sim' "nr to these in every practice. M went on to talk about the neces a s ty for riving the row a chance to prove her worth by supplying her with a proper ly balanced and adequate ration all thr year round, and to give particular rare to her health and comfort at all time? nnd seasons. The speaker concluded by strongly representing th© value of thorough pasteurisation of all milk fed to farm stock, and briefly described what ht had seen in this direction while on his recent visit to Canada. The surest nnd safest wav to eliminate tuberculosis from farm stock was by a persistent adherence to .cleanly methods nnd the use of thoroughly sterilised milk in th© feeding of young stock