COMMONSENSE IDEAS

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 78, Issue 7016, 7 February 1949, Page 8

COMMONSENSE IDEAS

JUDGING A COW BY PRODUCTION AUSTRALIAN FARMERS IMPRESSED “The greatest lesson we have learnt is the way your dairy fanners measure a cow by production, whereas we in Australia concentrate too much on type,” was the comment of one member of the party of touring New South Wales farmers who stayed in Cambridge. This opinion from Mr WE. Davies a dairy farmer at Urbenville was supported by others from the north coast district. The New Zealand idea was only commonsense said one dairy man. It did not matter what a cow looked like so long as she delivered the goods. While most good animals ran true to type there were exceptions and production was the only test. In many ways it was difficult to make comparisons between the two countries, said Mr Davies, owing to the different climates and rainfall. The whole party had marvelled at the carrying capacity and the production of the Waikato. They were impressed with the size of the cattle, Jerseys being as big as their Illawaras, or Shorthorns. There was some surprise to find rye grass and clover providing good feed in the middle of summer. In Australia these pastures disappeared in the dry weather. They experienced a lot of rain in the winter, but it was not unusual to go from July to November without a shower. Praise of Factories The dairy men expressed the opinion that butter factories were more advanced mechanically in New Zealand than Australia. They remarked on the wonderful co-operation of the farmers and the confidence they showed in their company directors. Previous comments were repeated in connection with the price received for pig-meats in New Zealand, and they wondered why farmers bothered with, this branch of the industry. The price paid to New Zealand pig producers of 9d a lb they considered ridiculous. In Australia the price had been Is, Is 2d, and now it was being increased to Is 3d. The retail price of bacon in Australian shops was 2s 9d to 2s lid a lb, compared with 2s a lb in the Dominion.