DAIRYING POSSIBILITIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3403, 4 June 1919, Page 13

DAIRYING POSSIBILITIES.

ADVANTAGES OF HERD-TESTING.

Bad butter is not wanted by anyone, even at a low price. The war has removed the prejudice in England against margarine, and the synthetic "butter" found its way Into the homes of many people of Great Britain. The question is whether it is to remain there or to be ousted by pure dairy butter when times return to normal. Whatever else happens, we can be certain of this (writes the Sydney Mail), that inferior butter will never oust it. And it is becoming increasingly evident that, even in Sydney, low-gisde butter cannot find a market. Its place has been taken by margarine as far as pastrycooks are concerned, so that the Sussex street merchants are now refusing to handle it. .Since the new expert (Mr L, TSWMTnnes,* of the dairy branch in New South Wales officially took over 'the supervision of the industry he has set to work in a very thorough manner to deal with some of the problems that embarrass milk and butter producers. As in everything else to-day, science is playing a very big part in dairying, and the man who is content to jog along in the antiquated groove of his forefathers will soon nave no place in the industry.

While the prime need is for improved quality, the necessity for greater production ia almost as urgent. This is to be achieved not so much by increasing the herds as by culling the wasters and feeding the good 1 milkers on an economic basis. Two dairymen bought a line of heifers, and divided them equally. At the end of a year one lot had returned 50 per cent, more to their owner than the other, simply because they had been fed sufficiently and .properly. It has also been demonstrated frequently in New South Wales that the man with the small, well-cared-for herd, makes, proportionately, much greater profit than tne man who carries more cows than he can reasonably feed and look after. Despite the efforts that have been made for many years now. to induce farmers to jro in for herd-testing, it' is remarkable how few of them have taken it up, and this in the face of the imJ movement that has quickly manifested itself n almost every herd put to the test. There should be no need to urge the advantages of herd-testing; its virtues have been amply proved in every country where dairying is carried on. But why is it that the majority of our dairy farmers so consistently ignore its lessons? More than on© conservative old dairyman has declared that he has no time for "these new-fangled ideas".; but the new-fangled" days of the Babcock tester have long since passed, and to-day it is recognised by progressive farmers as an absolute essential to success.

Apart from its immediate effect in improving; the yield, the tester has a verydirect influence on the future herd, for, by the elimination of the wasters and poor yielders it enables the farmer to breed wholly on production lines. And no time could be better for the elimination of the undesirables than now, when the price of butoher's cattle is so high. Many a farmer goes on year after year breeding from cows that, under the test, would never be given bail room on an up-to date farm, and the result is the gradual deterioration of the herd. Poor yiolders beget poor yielders. and, therefore, should never be tolerated on the dairy farm. On the other hand, instances of the improvement of herds by testing and selection are to be found on every hand. One recent examnle from America —where herd-testing is in a much more advanced state than in Australia —is inspiring. In 1896 a Jersey cow named Dome's ' Valentine was purchased by the Kentucky Experiment Station, and her first ? ear's test, showed that she produced 0,2181 b 0 f mflic and 6761 b of butter. Obviously, she was a superior cow to breed from, and she also proved a great oalf-getter, dropping one every year for 13 yoars. Like a groat many motherly cows,- she transmitted the regular breeding habit to her offspring. One daughter had 10 calves, another 11, and a third 12. Asa consequence Dollie's Valentine's descendants to-day dominate the herd at the experiment station, daughters, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters of the old cow being in the herd. Best of all, she handed on the ability to produce large- quantities of milk and butter, and her _ descendants on the female side are all making records that vary from 70001 b to 80001 b milk and 4001 b to 6001 b butter per year. These are exceptional results, which show emphatically what can bo achieved by careful testingplthd constructive breeding. Of course, the sire is a most important factor in building up Koh a herd, and what we need in Australia this connection is insistence on having every stud dairy bull sold with its production record. Such a f system would work wonders among our dairy herds. When such figures as tljose of Dollie's Valentino are compared with the average In Australia today the urxrent need for Reform in our methods becomes at once apparent. According to Mr Maclnnes the average yield of butter per head In this country i 3 somewhere about 1701 b per -vear, Whilst fcho numbcrof milking cows used for putter production is nearly 500,000. No one would suggest that our yearly average could be raised to anything approaching 400 lb of

butter per cow; ?but 1701 bis a ridiculous figure for a country like this, even in a bad season. For the present 2501 b would probably be a fair standard to aspire to, and when it is realised that every increase of 101 b per cow means an added revenue to the industry of £400,000, it requires but a simple sum in arithmetic to. demonstrate to every dairy farmer how much he is losing yearly by present methods. Mr Maclnnes affirms that increased production and improved quality are primarily based on properly feeding dairy stock. On this base all other things rest. To get tho best results from testing cows for production purposes i l- . is necessary that they be well fed and cared for. On the other hand, it is waste of time, effort, and money to milk cows that do not respond to the food and attention given them. Testing is the simple and effective means of determining whether a cow gives a milk and butter-fat yield sufficient to pay the cost of the food given her, other things being normal. Many, from a production point of view, do not, and are worthless for dairying, both as producers and breeders. They should bo culled and disposed of to the butcher. A properly-run herd-testing system is a card index of each cow's oapacity, and not only that, but a tabulated record of each sire used in th© herd.