FUTURE ASSURED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25734, 4 January 1945, Page 6

FUTURE ASSURED

ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION (0.C.) SYDNEY, Dec. 28. The future of artificial insemination of livestock in New South Wales was assured by an announcement of the Minister for Agriculture, Mr E. H. Graham, this week, that a Bill to control the practice would be brought down soon. The Bill was necessary, he said, to protect settlers from fraud, to prevent the transmission of diseases, and to apply the method to the improvement of dairying herds. The Government's decision to introduce the Bill depended on the progress of the first c “ test-tube ” calf born a month ago at the Glen field Veterinary Research School, Camden, about 30 miles from Sydpey. The calf is frisking in a farmer’s paddock adjoining the research station, where it was born. At present four cows in a Camden paddock are in calf to a New Zealand bull. * Six cows in New Zealand may soon have calves to a New South Wales bull as a result of the first transtasman experimental artificial insemination carried out three months ago. A Sydney University scientist made the journey to New Zealand by plane to make this possible. The director of Glenfleld Station (Mr W. L. Hindmarsh) said that the butter yield in New South Wales could be doubled by mean's of artificial insemination. “ When we get under way we will ensure that only the best bulls will be used for the purpose,” Mr Hindmarsh said. “At present,” he said, “ all farmers do not have access to the best bulls and often the progeny are poor.” A pioneer of artificial insemination in Australia (Mr A. R. Tewksbury), who conducted a stud farm for horses for 20 years, said, ‘‘There is no doubting the efficacy of artificial stock production. While it may not be said the offspring are necessarily superior to normally produced stock, it is possible to give all stock better parentage.”