DAIRY COWS AND RECORDS

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 23, Issue 5, 19 January 1912, Page 4

DAIRY COWS AND RECORDS

THE BEST BREED MR A. BUCHANAN’S CHALLENGE. It is a generally accepted fact that in whatever branch of industry a number of different persons are engaged there is bound to be more or less competition among them as to who shall produce the best results. A spirit of friendly rivalry is most commendable, as it provides the very best of incentives to bring out excellence in whatever object the individual energies are concentrated upon. In the farming world at the present time,no feature of the work is receiving greater attention than that which is being devoted to the laying of foundations of and the building up of the dairy herds that are destined to play so important a part ip the earning of wealth arid the support of population in the future of thisdomhuori. Almost every boat from overseas brings to our shores specially-selected animals of the breeds that are already favoured, or which are reputed to be profitable in the daily. Under these circumstances it is natural to find that each separate breed has its fanciers, and now that fairly large herds of each breed are being built up in i different parts there is no small amount* pf speculation as to which is the best for all-round dairy purposes. Show ring performances haye ceased to be recognised as an infallible guide to utility, the buyers preferring to have, some more tangible evidence, in the shape of actual performances, as a guide to capabilities before they pay large prices for new blood for infusion into their herds. A few short dated milk and butter-fat competitions have been held, but, as any test that does not cover the full period of lactation is practically useless in determining the worth of the cow, nothing very conclusive has been arrived at by this

means. In other parts of the world, where more exhaustive trials have been made, the possibility of arriving at a satisfactory reply as to which is the best cow is as far off as ever, because representative cows of each breed are in turn announced as world’s record breakers. Sometimes the record-maker is a Holstein, then a Guernsey, Jersey, Ayrshire, and so on. In New Zealand some of the more progressive owners of pedigree stock have adopted the practice of recording the full period performances of their herds, so that when the progeny is offered for sale the dam’s performance may be statedand better prices obtained. The custom has been followed for several years with the Weraroa State herd of Holsteins, which comprise some remarkably fine animals, whose published returns are the envy of those who value cash returns before breed points. One of the ; cows in this herd is reputed to be the best in the dominion, but the supremacy of the best three cows of the herd is being disputed by Mr A. Buchanan, of Jersey Holm, Palmerston North, who publishes the following challenge in order to put the matter to a test: “ Since the Government are ad vertising the merits of their Weraroa State farm cattle, they wilt probably be willing to join in a friendly demonstration with breeders of other . dairy cattle. I therefore challenge them to arrange fora year’s contest . with animals feed on grass only, in the same field of fields. The conditions otherwise should be on these lines. Stud cattle only to compete and each owner entering to supply a mature cow and a three-year-pld, and a two-year-old heifer. Butterfat and casein and whey to be calculated at actual value. The, trio furnishing the greatest value to be accounted the winners. Eachowner must forfeit twenty five guineas, which ia\to be allocated to one ,or other of the public hospitals of. the Dominion. The first-prize ' winner to have the option of saying to which hospital the first fifty guineas will be handed, and so on, with .the second-prize man allocating the third deposit. With twenty competitors, the hospitals should benefit to the extent of one thousand guineas (Government bonusadded).” It is to be presumed, that the foregoing challenge has been issued with the object of demonstrating which of' the breeds of cattle are the best for dairying, but in our opinion no contest of this kind will provide a conclusive answer, for no matter which trio showed the best return in that particular contest, nothing further than that the particular 7 cows engaged were good specimens of their breed would be proved. There are good, bad and indifferent cows in all breeds. It is also quite possible that the best cow in a nondescript herd might show a better return than pedigree stock. There are other considerations' to be taken into account besides the yield of milk <and butter-fat percentage, when determining a cow’s - value, such as climate, pastures and the disposal of progeny that are unsuitable for the herd. No provision appears to have been made for ascertaining during the contest the quantity of food that the different cows will consume in order to produce a given quantity of milk. This is essential if definite figures as to, exact profits earned over’ working expenses , are to be the objective. There is also '■ the further consideration of the cost of manufacturing butter and cheese from, cows'that give varying quantities of milki butter-fat, and casein content, . and then when all is said and done breeders will still stick to their fancy . breeds, all of which are good. .. As a matter of fact, there does not appear to be any best cow, or herds of cows, although it is quite natural for owners to support the particular breed in which they are interested. Mr Buchanan’s object in suggesting the competition is a worthy one, but it is unlikely that the competition that he proposes will eventuate.