THE WINTON AREA

Southland Times, Issue 19461, 28 January 1925, Page 8

THE WINTON AREA

DAIRY HERD PROBLEM. DEFINITE ACTION DECIDED ON. At a special meeting of the Winton A. and P. Association Executive held yesterday, at Winton, it was decided to offer the Government a small dairy herd for the area. There were present:—Messrs D. H. McLean, R. J. Anderson, J. Keith, W. Calder, P. de la Perrelle, M. McKay, F. Moore, D. Larnach, C. Mcßae and J. Plunket. ' SMALL HERD TO BE OFFERED. I The Chairman said the meeting had been called to discuss another aspect of the herd* question, which was turned down at the previous meeting. The proposal was to offer a small herd to the Government in order that they could secure more definite information about pastures. There was no doubt that interest in the area was waning, and they had to do something to revive in- , terest, and the present scheme was put forward with this end in view. He would . like to hear their opinions. Mr Calder: Does the scheme include ' any particular breed? The Chairman: No! Crossbred cows are to be used to test the pastures. Mr Anderson said it was not intended to i hand over the cows altogether, but to lend them for the season. It would be much better ii the cows belonged to the Govern- j ment, and they could be obtained for j £lOO. When the scheme was mentioned to | some of the leading dairymen they were keen on it and one had said he would only , be too pleased to give a cow for such a : test. This man said that he had such a scheme in his head for many years, but could see no method of carrying it out. They had no indication of what the Government intended doing with the farm which, unlike other Government farms, was at least paying its way. If the Government went carefully, there would always be a profit, and so long as the area was paying its way, no one could object. AIM OF AREA. “The aim of the area,” he continued, “has, all along, been the. establishment oi a dairy herd from which all would benefit.” He said that they should get cows and have the pastures tested so that all dairy- I men would know just what was the best 1 mixture to sow for production. After tins information had been tabulated they could then conduct a test of purebreds on the area. The purebred cows would be fed on the same pasture and they would then see what breed would produce the most butterfat. Separate areas of the pasture could • be fenced off and each cow given a similar i amount of ground to graze on. By check- ' ing the grazing time they would ascertain ( which breed was the most economical. The test would then be a real one as the cows would be milked by the same man, fed on | the same pasture and all treated alike. ' All the dairymen he had mentioned the scheme to were pleased with it and there was no necessity for them to wrangle over it. “I cannot say the area is a great success with other stock running on it,” he concluded, “and cows arc necessary to .make it interesting.” THE DISCUSSION. Mr Perrelle:: What animals do you pro- ■ pose to run on the area? Mr Anderson: Crossbreds at present, as we could not hope to keep 10 purebred sires for 10 purebred cows. Perhaps afterwards we could get an imported bull or his progeny from one of the State farms to stand on the area. This would assist breeders anxious to get. a good bull. I am sure it would pay handsomely. This scheme is not only for Winton, but the whole of Southland and we have the backing of the Southland A. and P. Association that this is the place for an Experimental Farm. He said Lumsden, Lake County, Riverton and other centres favoured the establishment of a herd at Winton. With a herd they could find out definitely wfiat it cost to keep a cow through the winter. Any young farmer could come along and get that information which would enable him to start right. It would be a splendid thing to see the herd started and he saw no reason why the Government should not take over an area which was not losing any money. I Mr Perrelle said they would first have to • induce the Minister for Agriculture to look favourably on the proposal and take charge of the animals offered. He would do his ; best to assist the scheme as it was going to benefit the whole of Southland. They were out to improve the herds and there was no reason why the average Southland herd should not produce more butter-fat. Mrs King, lessor of the property, who was present by request, said she was prepared to give 50 per cent, compensation up to : £lOO for any money spent on the buildings | should the property come back to her. j Mr Keith: The lease expires in 1928. The Chairman: And we have no guarantee that the Government will carry on. Mr Perrelle: Dr. Reakes will be down in March, why not talk the matter over with him when he arrives? Mr Anderson: That would be a good time to get the cows. Mr Perrelle: You want definite promises from the people so that you can place concrete facts in front of Dr. Reakes when he arrives. The Chairman: We have got to consider whether we supply the animals or the Government. Mr Anderson: I think we should ask the Government to buy them, but we might lend cows for twelve months. I “At a meeting of the Dairy Federation,” said Mr J. Keith, “I ~was asked what we had done and I told the directors we were considering the matter to-day I He said there was a number of dairymen awaiting the result of the meeting. He had understood that the cows were to be given and handed over. The Chairman: It would be more inducement to the Government to carry on if we provide the cows. I am willing to hand over one cow. Mr Anderson: If the Chairman is prepared ■ to do that I will do the same. THE MOTION. Mr Keith: If we decide to carry on with I the proposal, we v/ill have no difficulty in | getting the necessary cows to offer. We ' will not need to slip, but stick to our ob- j ject of getting the herd. I will move that cows be offered to the Government and that the directors of dairy and butter fac- , tones be approached to donate cows to help the scheme as it is in the interests of the dairy farms of the province. The motion was seconded by Mr M. McKay and carried unanimously. Mr Calder: Once you put cows on the area you will get farmers taking an interest in it. It was further decided to endeavour to I get Dr. Reakes down to consult with them over the management of the area.