HERD IMPROVEMENT

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 56, Issue 4043, 4 May 1938, Page 8

HERD IMPROVEMENT

N.Z. CO-OPERATIVE HERD TESTING ASSOCIATION. ANNUAL MEETING OF TE AWAMUTU DISTRICT GROUP. There was not a very large attendance (no doubt, owing to the wet weather) at the annual meeting of the Te Awamutu and neighbouring groups of the N.Z. Co-operative Herd Testing Association, held in Te Awamutu yesterday afternoon. Mr A. S. Wyllie, the district director, presided, and he welcomed Mr C. M. Hume, the Dominion organiser and an old friend of many Te Awamutu farmers, who was paying a short visit in the course of his tour of New Zealand. THE CHAIRMAN’S OPENING. Mr Wyllie went on to remark that had the annual meeting been held in February all would doubtless have been looking forward to a new record in production for the present season; but he regretted this would not be consummated, owing to the excep tional climatic conditions and the prevalence of a peculiar ailment among dairy stock reducing production. However, he hoped the latter trouble would soon pass. The speakei then compared the dairying conditions here with those he saw when visiting Australia a year ago, and referred to the Dairy Board’s action in inviting such eminent authorities as Dr Hammond and Dr Hueker to visit New Zealand and advise on the latest methods of dairy husbandry. It was, continued the chairman. very gratifying to note the activities at Ruakura, and the appointment of a committee including Mr Ranstead, representative of the Herd Testing Association. At Ruakura experiments would be conducted that should prove of very valuable service to the dairymen. Mr Wyllie referred to the guaranteed price for the present dairying season and the prospects for a somewhat higher pay out in the next season; and reminded dairymen that the guaranteed price was based on the production returns of average farms, stressing that an increase would be to the material advantage of the better farmers. MR KNIGHT’S ADDRESS Mr Knight first dealt with the sire survey scheme, and said the work was progressing satisfactorily. As more data was collected, the true value of the scheme would be realised. The Association had not been able to do anything more in the matter of artificial insemination, but was hoping the Department of Agriculture would interest itself in the matter and actively co-operate, so that when results of the sire survey scheme were available the artificial insemination scheme could dovetail with it. Experts, continued Mr Knight, asserted that there was no known cure lor mammitis, but the herd recording department was approaching the problem from a new angle, on the lines of heredity. Mr Knight here displayed a graph giving details based on winter culling of herds, giving the percentages of the varying cause of culling. He also made comparisons with the figures obtained from England. The speaker urged all members to keep their shed sheets bearing on sterility of cows, and said the Association would collect and forward them to Wellington for the compiling of statistics, with the object of arriving at definite conclusions. The next reference was to cause and control of mastitis, and Mr Knight showed the lower susceptibility of heredity from clean parents than from those not certified clean. He stressed the need for extending the scope of this investigation, as the present figures could not be quoted convincingly, for not. enough cattle were being investigated. MORE LACTATION PERIODS. Mr Knight mentioned that the average period of usefulness of a cow was five seasons, and urged systematic testing with a view to evolving a cow good for at least seven lactat ion periods. This, he thought, would not be difficult, for he knew of quite a number of instances of cows still in milk at 19, 20 and even 21 years of age. Strange to add, he said, one cow of 21 years (a real foundation cow) had several generations of progeny in the herd, and not one of them reacted to the mastitis test! The speaker went on to quote the conclusions of Mr Ward, the special recorder, and urged farmers to concentrate upon building up their herds from cows that had qualified in the essentials. MARKED CALVES. The next subject dealt with was marked calves, and Mr Knight told of the sales at Matamata and Pukekohe. At the latter place 115 calves were sold, averaged £4 2s, and went up to £6 2s 6d. The average for 1937 was £3 19s 9d, in 1936 £3 5s Id, and in 1935 £2 4s Id. Relative increases had also been experienced at Matamata. Buyers were coming back year after year for more marked calves. THE DOMINION ORGANISER. Mr C. M. Hume said he would be brief, and recalled his first visit to Te Awamutu as a member of the Association staff in 1924, and made some interesting comparisons. In 1924 the cow population ot New Zealand was about 1,200,000, and in 1936 it was nearly 2,000,000. While the cow population had increased greatly, the percentage of per capita production was not so high—for there had not been enough concentration upon producing a good profitable dairy cow. He suggested that if the farmers had merely increased the cow population to 1,500,000 the returns would have shown a greater profit. Reduction in production costs was imperative, and he advocated selecting better cows by means of systematic and continued herd testing, and breeding only from proved cows. That was the main essential to success. He regretted that many breeders had not kept pace with the progress of the times, but asserted that a certain remedy was for the farmers as a whole to refuse to buy a bull that did not have standard butter fat backing. The breeders would soon find that it was necessary to put their breeding methods in order. If the pedigree sire was to be relied on it should have constitution and butter fat backing. The average pedigree

cow did not produce more butter fat than the average grade cow. That should not be. BUTTER FAT BACKING. The speaker went on to refer to the definite endeavours of several breeders to “put their own houses in order,” and applauded that effort. However, he regretted to say some other breeders had continued their old methods. A few years ago Danish dairymen were in the same position, and they faced up to the problem heroically: Cattle without butter fat backing were debarred from the sale ring and show ring. It was not long ere the pedigree cows increased their average production of butter fat to an almost phenomenal figure—far ahead of the non-pedigree cows. BROM THYMOL TEST. Mr Hume went on to refer to the brom thymol blue test for mammitis, and elaborated the information available about Dr Hucker’s contentions, going on to say that conditions in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres probably differed somewhat, and therefore conclusions might not be definite. Mammitis or mastitis were synonymous terms, the latter being used universally in the northern countries. The speaker went on to compare testing methods in the Dominion and abroad, and gave some rather surprising details of his investigations in the Wairarapa. His opinion was that there was not sufficient evidence to warrant full acceptance of the assertion of “once mammitis, always mammitis.” ADVICE TO FARMERS. Mr Hume then referred to the brom thymol test for mammitis, and displayed a very serviceable tray for holding the small testing bottles used in the test. To brom thymol test a herd of 90 cows only occupied 15 minutes longer than without the testing apparatus. Every farmer should institute the plan and carry it on without cessation, for it was of immense importance. The time occupied was time very well spent. The farmer who did not want the true position exposed was taking up a foolish attitude. The problem of mammitis must be faced, and he counselled all farmers to carry out the thymol test right through next season. The data thus collected would be of immense importance in providing an antidote or remedial measures by the scientific investigators at Wallaceville and elsewhere. The Herd Testing Association was keenly in favour, and would like to have the records of 100,000 cows by next March. With that information, he pointed out, the New Zealand investigators would be better equipped than those in any other part of the world. He added that the investiga tion would very probably throw much valuable light on sterility and other troubles, as he was confident several of the troubles were allied. It was. however, very desirable to have the full co-operation of all dairymen. QUESTION TIME. Mr Wyllie said many dairymen were concerned as to what to do with definitely infected cows, and remarked that only a gradual process of elimination of infected cows could achieve useful results. One member mentioned that testing was essential for a farmer who was a poor man; he could not afford to farm without testing his stock. As a man progressed he had to face other problems, but it should be remembered that costs were always rising. Mr Hume suggested that the brom thymol test might be incorporated in the regular testing of herds. It would have to be universal. The Dairy Board was sponsoring the thymol test, not merely the Herd Testing Association. Costs would be spread over the whole industry because it was designed to get results beneficial to the industry as a whole. Mr Wyllie said he believed that the best results could be obtained through the Testing Association, but testing charges could not be increased by any considerable amount. If there were any increase it would not be obligatory on individual farmers to avail themselves of the service. Mr S. G. Broadbent contended that if mastitis were not contagious, though probably hereditary, a cow might develop it after she had produced one or more calves, and therefore that progeny could not be condemned out of hand because her dam was later infected. Mr Hume replied that the Association was seeking to give the results of the investigation, and then leave the farmer to draw his own conclusions, and act accordingly. The trouble could jiot be corrected overnight. However, where there were weak units in the herd the trouble, once located, could be dealt with more effectively. Mr Wyllie said it was families whose members did not react to the test for mammitis that would be the most valuable. The objective of the scheme was to find the clean families. Mr Hume mentioned that farmers were too apt to neglect the stock of the Dominion, giving preference to the progeny of imported stock. The stock of the Dominion was good and compared very favourably with those in any other country. “Island type” of Jerseys were apt to be too greatly preferred; he preferred the solid constitution and larger frame of dairy stock. Sterility was largely caused by the over-feeding of young bulls destined for sale to dairy farmers, asserted one member, and Mr Hume said that that view was supported by Dr Ham mond. At the conclusion of the address, votes of thanks were accorded Mr Wyllie for presiding, and Messrs Hume and Knight for their statement of the position.