Milk For Vealers

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18255, 25 November 1933, Page 14

Milk For Vealers

THE feeding of new milk for the * raising of vealers is proposed with a double object in view.

A Taranaki dairy factory director, Mr. I*. A. Openshaw, chairman of the Loppcrton Dairy Company, who has had considerable experience as a butcher and farmer both in England and in New Zealand, is trying out an experiment Tor the utilisation of some of the butterfat now being exported to Britain.

The experiment is being followed with great interest by Government officials, states the News. It consists of the rearing of calves for a few weeks under the most approved hygienic conditions and then killing thorn and selling the veal locally or else exporting it.

The calves, which are kept in stalls in a warm building, are well bedded and fed on new milk and linseed meal for from six to eight weeks. Careful check is kept of tho cost of the calf up to the time it is killed, and also of the returns therefrom, and it has been found that the returns give moro per lb. of butterfat than would havo been produced had the butterfat been sent to the factory and paid for in tho ordinary way.

In his calculations Mr. Openshaw estimates the original value of tho calf at 5s (the price of a “bobby" calf), tho hay used for bedding at 3s Gd, and the linseed meal at 4s. The milk given is weighed and in the case of a call under review it amounted to a total ol 10201 b., which at .4 test equalled 40.81 b. of butterfat. At lOd that was equal to £1 14s 2d, making the total cost of tho vealcr £2 Gs Bd. The vealers so far raised have returned from ]old to Is Id a pound for the butterfat consumed, after allowing for all other expenses. That must be regarded as very satis factory, because it must he realised also that as a result for each calf reared 401 b. less butterfat is being manufactured into butter or cheese, 't(uis also decreased. Yeal reared under theso'-.conditions is immeasurably superiorly “runner" veal —that i.> the calf reared why being allowed to run with its mother. So providing iUrther experiment confirms Mr. Openshaw ;> experience that it is a payable propu.tion to utilise butterfat in that wa.<, there is no reason why venl-raisiug operations should not be carried out on a large scale, as there is always a demand both in New Zealand and at Homo for such high quality veal.