COW BREEDING.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 78, 28 March 1912, Page 8

COW BREEDING.

FOll DAIRY' PURPOSES. Some pertinent questions contained in a letter published sonic little time ago, as to the influence of wealth to help the farmer in the raising of a high-class herd, and the inference that considerable money is essential tc achieve the desired results, has loc the. writer to think that a short pape on the subject of breeding, may d some good, and help to stimulate tindairy farmers to pay some attentio. to this important question. In order then to .have somethin! solid on which to build the remarks it will perhaps not be amiss to givthe actual figures later on, of tin cost to the writer to head his here with pedigree hulls of approved type and the cash position with regard t the male only.

The matter of a few pedigree cow; purchased need not enter into th. paper, as it is not essential to tin welfare of the general dair farmer, though, of course, it applie, very forcibly to the breeder of stin stock. It is/ not, however, to the stud breeder that 1 am appealing my remarks apply to the dairy farm cr.

I am aware that in giving the .csnl of £. s. d. in pedigree bulls, soon allowance has to be made where n pedigree females are kept, as tin few purchased, by me, have returncsome profits by the sale of bu)!„ breby one of them* but I am taking n account of the value of female pro geny, these alone have compensateme for my outlay in pedigree female,' I am later showing the practice at if, worst in the matter of bulls, from . financial aspect. Personally, I have followed line that I consider within the reach oevery dairy farmer financially, and have always recognised the principl that farmers must walk before the. can run, but the trouble seems t me that they remain too long at tin walk, and wear themselves into a dee groove, treading the same path tha each year seems more difficult t get out of. It is this’l would likto- see altered, and if :I can only con vince a few to try I shall be hand sornely rewarded, as these will course and advise others, and the good wil grow and follow along after I am for gotten. Let it be quite understood that i order to achieve success a steady pe: severence, careful judgment, am systematic attention to detail inns be brought to bear on the infusim of the different bloods. This is mor. a factor of success than the capita outlay. A haphazard course of infusing var ious breeds of dairy cattle, even o pure blooded animals, might prohabl, result in a disastrous failure. Care should be taken to trace th families, and to see that the producing 'qualities have characterised th dam of the bull chosen as well as nls seeing the sire is descended fron a similar desirable strain. The writer’s herd was started ii September, 1902, with ordinary cow: of the all breed type. No cow per sessed any special blood. In 190. the herd was headed by a pure blond od bull of the best milking type at i cost of 22 guineas, and since the: nothing hut pure blonder pedigree bulls have been ai lowed to head the heard. Tin present herd consists of sixty, fifty eight of which have been broken ii on the place, and only eight head o’ the whole have been purchased. Tin others have been bred on the place Of these two cows and three heifer.' with pedigrees, were purchased, am three grade yearling heifers that an now cows. The capital cost of the hulls pmchased since 1903 is £172 3s. Tin receipts from sales of pedigree bull; since 1903 is £258 3s, and there an on the place to-day five bulls, yomij. and old, representing a value conservatively put of £135. Thus we r,e( the keeping of approved herd bool bulls for eight years has resulted ii returning on the bulls alone £22-1 over and above the first cost. This, however, is a mere detail tr the breeding of some'2oo high gnnk cows that has resulted from the mat ing. Many tine cows are to-day scattered around the district as the result of the introduction of these blood sires.

Probably one of the strongest points of continued breeding by well selected pure blooded bulls from good milking families is that the percentage of failures in the progeny is usually within 5 per cent of the whole. The percentage of failures from ordinary bred stuff is nearer 50 per cent of the whole. Let the farmer recognise that il costs no more to keep a good hull than a bad one, except the first capital cost, and even allowing £SO was paid for the animal, and allowing interest at 10 per cent per annum, and depreciation of a similar amount, it would only mean 10s per cow to the owner of twenty, and surely this gives a generous allowance for the outlay. The point of keeping a poor cow against a good one is so marked that the extra production for the same labour, and same cost of fond will amount to anything from 25 per cent to 50 per cent, putting it at a conservative estimate. The cry that farmers cannot afford fo head their herds with good animals is one that should he discouraged by all men who claim to have the interest of the dairy farmer at heart, this cry only helps to keep the poor man poor. In my opinion no farmer is so poor but that he can head his herd with a pure blooded animal of good typo, from almost, if not quite, the start of his career. Unfortunately, the idea lias become imbued into the minds of many, and

is often unconsciously fostered by some who ought to know .better, that only men of capital can do these things. Sncli ideas are erroneous, and I venture to say if business men applied the same rule to their commercial business as many of our dairy farmers do to the raising of their herds, we should soon have financ.al chaos. That this district is lagging behind other dairy districts in the matter of breeding is plain to an observer. W iv is it? Sometimes I think it must be climatic influences, yet we have sheep farmers in Hawke’s Bay and breeders of beef cattle, who have long recognised the necessity of pure breeding. I venture to say there are few places where such a large amount of rubbish is sold for dairy cattle each year as in those districts, and the energy of the average dairy farm or to improve, seems as lethargic as over, he seems content to buy the rubbish and growl at the result. Lot it here be pointed out that sometimes a good cow will prove disappointing for a season, and no one able to explain the reason why, but a poor cow can never be anything else than disappointing. One thing is evident and that is with the present prices ruling for land, more attention must be given to the raising of dairy cattle that will allow some margin of profit over feed and, labour. The pinch will be severely felt by many, should prices for dairy produce fall to the level of five or six years ago. The only remedy to prevent or protect this is to raise cows of a higher producing standard. The raising from, say IGOths to 220ths is comparatively easy, the raising from 220 to 260 a trifle harder, and the raising from 260 to 300 will make many put their thinking caps on. 1 am here.stating figures of an average sized herd to produce per cow. Not any one cow’s production of singular merit. Before concluding this paper I would like to remark that the female calf of to-day is the cow of to-morrow, and that in order that she may be physically fitted to stand the strain that she will he called upon to bear, it is necessary to build up a robust constitution. Thig can be done by proper attention to breeding and rearing. A few shillings a head per calf, can be profitably spent in this direction, and will prove a sound investment. There is no calling in the universe that carries with it. such scope for individual independence and noble character as the calling of a farmer. What calling demands more use of brains, perseverance and muscle and high ideals? Yet how sadly we lack the gifts when all is summed up. : J.B.V.