DALEFIELD TESTING RESULTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2949, 21 September 1910, Page 8

DALEFIELD TESTING RESULTS.

MR SINGLETON’S OFFICIAL REPORT. ( In the current number of the Journal of ; the Department of Agriculture there ie a , lengthy article by Mr V rj. Singleton (assis- - taut director of the 'Dairy Produce Divi ; sioa) on the work of the Dalefield Cowtesting Association. ; In a preface Mr Singleton says that for { some time past “progressive dairymen have ] been endeavouring to improve the milking j capacities of herds. In earlier years j this endeavour took the shape of recording the quantity of milk produced in the sea- i son by the individral cows of the herd. < With the advent of the butter-fat tests, to- i gether with the adoption of the principle < of paying by-test, in about 1891, the method j of cow-testing was necessarily varied to ; take cognisance of the richness of the milk < in butter-fat as well as of the total quantity of milk, which latter had until that j time been the sole criterion.” “It was only in August, 1909” (the writer proceeds “that t-He Cow-testing Association was organised. This occurred at Dale- i field, Wairaiapa, where, with the’co-opera- .] tion of the dairy company and a number i of milk suppliers, the Dairy Produce Divi- , sior has conducted a monthly test during the past season, including in all some 800 1 cows. ' ] “The season covered by this tost has pro , hably evidenced the highest production per cow that has obtained foe many years. The- j early spring, together with the most propitious summer and .autumn, favoured as they were with rain whenever the pasturage required it, produced conditions which enabled the dairy cows to make recordyields. The increase in the average yield , of some herds this season will amount to ' about 15 per cent. The figures given below can therefor© scarcely bo taken as indicating the average production of the average cow during an average season. “A number of cows calving in December and January would not milk much after the end of the ordinary season, since they would probably be coming in at an earlier date during the succeeding season. in such leases tlhey should bo (counted in estimating the general average. The milking period averages 251 days. An. interesting table is inserted showing the average production of each herd. Referring to t h is, Mr Single ton says : “This table discloses the fact that these herds have received a good deal of culling’ and improvement at the hands of thenowners. A certain amount of weighing ant! testing had been done at some farms prior to the starting of the Testing Association, and some of the herds yielded very creditably indeed. Some who think these re- ' cords tool high may be inclined to suggest that the figures are unreliable. It can confidently be stated, from checks made by the division, that there is very little, ;if any, discrepancy in this direction. In fact-, these checks indicated that members | as a whole were careful with the portion. ■ of the work which constituted their share of this 00-operative movement. The average test for the season of the average cow is not higher than that of the average factory supply, while the weights sub mitted by the several members whose figures are given herein have been found to agree closely ‘ with the quantities of milk they were delivering at the factory at the time such weights were taken. “This table shows the yield of the average cow, best cow, and poorest cow of each herd, of cows in milk 210 days and over:

Yield of average cow for above period 7133 3.85 274.57 Yield of average best, cow for .above period 9 111 4,07 383.00 Yield of average worst cow for above period 5543 3.6 G 202.83 “All the cows, bolding the record for j highest production in the individual herds ; are. without exception, good producers. ! The poorest producer in each herd is, with 1 one exception .below the general average : for the association. The exception is in ;v ! very small herd, which contains some twoI year-old heifers that the general j average of the herd lower than the yield 1 of the lowest producer at an age. of three j years old and over. No two-year-olds have j been taken into consideration when solect- ' ing the poorest producer, although they j have been counted in the herd averages. ; This practice has obtained throughout the season in the compilation of the monthly summaries. I “The average in this group of 598 cows i milking 21Q days and over, and averaging : 260 days, gave 71331 b milk and 274.57L1> j fat. This, at Is per lb, would give a gross return from the factory of £l3 14s 7d. The 23 cows formed by taking the best one of each herd gave an average yield of j 94111 bof milk, containing 3851 b of fat. j or a money value, at Is per lb for fat, of £l9 3s The average cow of the 23 poorest ! producers, takirlg the lowest yield in each : herd, gives 55451 bof milk, containing 202.881 b of fat, yielding, at the above rate of Is per lb of fat. £lO 2s lid. The aver- • age milking period of these poorest cows 1 is a fair average season for many cows, i and, although even the poorest producers were in every insta.nce milking at least seven, months, stiil their gross return is worth about only one-half that of the aver age best cow. “It must be observed that these 23 cov.is .ire not. the 23 lowest producers in the association; neither are the 23 best cows j referred to the 23 largest producers of tine j association. The second best in one hed 1 often yields more than the best of another herd. The same applies to the lowest : n reduce ns.

"The yield of the best cows was A55.851b fat, which, at Is per lb, jdves a gross return of £24 15s iCd. The yield of the poorest cows which covered a 225-day period was 33?3!b milk, testing 4.05 per cent., an i yielding- 137.081 b fat, which, valued as above, "gives a gross return of £6 176. The average length of the milking period of these 23 best cows is 286 days; that of the poorer producers is 24-8 days, a difference of 33 days. This evidences the necessity of having cows drop their calves fairly early in the spring, provided they come into profit, in good condition. "This is where the extension of the practice of better winter feeding is assisting our; dairy farmers. The first and second months should be the best months for production, and will be so, provided the cowis in good condition at the commencement and is supplied with a sufficient quantity of tho right sort of feed. "Another important point is- also emphasised in this variation of milking period. These lowest producers dried off more rapidly after becoming pregnant. Their milking propensities were riot as firmly established as they should bo in a specialpurpose dairy cow. Cows of the bsef breed may be expected to dry off about the time of "renewed pregnancy, but dairy cows of the right strain are above such habits. These 23 beet cows gave milk loir nine months and a-half. A number of the good cows in the association have given milk for 10 months, and this should bo about a right milking'pericd for a good dairy odw."

Herd. No. of Herd Highest Lowest No. Cows. Average. Pat, lb. Yield. Fat, lb. Yield. Pat, lb. 1 — — — — 2 35 253.09 342.13 174.GO 3 27 257.98 352.68 189.22 4 . 24 274.86 404.71 180.91 5 24 282.15 363.91 217.84 6 39 263.52 426.70 161.82 7 40 295.07 425.23 213.17 8 23 244.30 364.23 181.16 9 25 249.60 340.11 137.05 10 8 281.91 346.12 293.73 11 19 314.63 432.03 ■ '237.03 12 40 297.68 495.85 205.51 13 17 380.44 347.30 224.43 14 18 309.44 453.38 228.39 15 25 270.21 364.22 193.76 16 27 276.58 435.41 151.35 17 30 263.61 343.59 178.32 18 — — . — — 19 23 285.57 340.44 222.15 20 — — . — — 21 27 263.39 340.37 205.59 22 25 267.92 359.62 222.07 23 rr 23 263.31 331.10 197.38 24 25 295.24 438.40 237.59 25 32 264.95 397.90 190.88 26 — — — *. — 27 22 286.14 363.53 217.29 Milk, Fat, lb. Test. lb.