FITTING COWS FOR THE MILKING SEASON.

Otago Witness, Issue 3414, 20 August 1919, Page 12

FITTING COWS FOR THE MILKING SEASON.

All mammals, when iu proper environment and under normal conditions, naturally take _ on flesh during pregnarxjy, the reserve used in milk-production when tho young as born. As we expect a dairy cow to give much more milk than iier calf requires, it is only reasonable thai she should bo in extra good condition of

flesh at Calvins'- time. A further consideration is the procuring of strong, wellnourished calves which cannot be expected from poorly-nourished cows. Grain fed during the dry period has been found to give greater returns than the same amount of grain fed after calving, these returns being in the form of a more vigorous calf and increased milk-production. To have oows in proper condition of flesh, one of the first requisites is to give them sufficient rest betwen lactation periods. The cow that is milked up to within two or three weeks of calving may pile' up quite a record for that year, but she will surely fall off in the next lactation period. Each cow should have from six to eight weeks of a rest period. The feeding of the cow during this period will depend upon her condition when dried off. If she is in good condition of flesh then very little more than a maintenance ration is necessary, but the feeder should watch that she does no lose her thrifty condition. If she has become thin and run down, then a liberal ration should be allowed. The character of the ration need not differ materially from that fed to the milch cows. Pasture, supplemented by silage or soiling, crops in summer and roots or silage and legume hay hi winter, should be sufficient for the cow_ in good condition Those in poorer condition should receive grain in addition up _to 61b or 71b per day if necessary. It is important at all times that dairy cows receive a laxative ration, but particularly so just at calving-time. To this end the grain ration should consist of such laxative feeds as _ wheat, bran, and oil cake, together with either oats, barley, or corn, preferably the former, in equal parts. For every iOOlb of the above grain mixture there should be added 11b each of ground rock phosphate, charcoal, and common salt. The salt is a necessity in the ration while the other ingredients act as a. tonic mixture separately, or the last day or two before calving the regular ration should bo replaced by bran alone, which should be fed up to calving-time and for a few days afterwards. To ensure the best results from the method of fitting the cow for her lactation period she should bo allowed plenty of exercise. This will be found to do away with many of the calving and udder troubles experienced with oows highly fed on heatproducing foods just previous to calving. Mr Bruce Levy, of the Weraroa State Farm, referred at the annual reunion of the Winton A. and P. Society to_ the Agricultural Department’s investigations disease in turnips, popularly known as “dry rot.” The investigations had not attained like finality. Bast year’s work showed”that the better the crop in an affected area the more subject it was to disease, which was very discouraging. Observations made, principally on bulbs from the Gore area, showed 44.8 pr cent, of the best crop (super and lime) affected, while the poorest (no manure) showed only 4 per cent.' affected, and the next poorest (sulphur) 10.9 per cent affected. In general it was safe to say that increasing the manure and thus forcing a 'large soft root indicated to a more severe “dry rot” attack. If they could produce by suitable manure a large root, slow to mature, then “dry rot” should bo much decreased throughout crop. The only manure that had given any indication in tins direction was super, plus 2owt guano. This produced a very fair crop, in which tho bulb looked hardier and the foliage seemed stiffer to the feel. The trial opened up a considerable field for further experiments along the lines of manuring—slow-acting manures for a start, or in small quantities, and the topdressing afterwards of quick-acting manures. The soft green bronze top type of swede seemed less able to resist the disease than tho purple top.