DIVERTING BUTTER-FAT

Taranaki Daily News, 31 March 1934, Page 24 (Supplement)

DIVERTING BUTTER-FAT

EXPERIMENT IN PRODUCING VEAL.

WILL IT PROVE SUCCESSFUL? Talk of the quota and the necessity for restricting the export of dairy produce led Mr. P. A, Openshaw, chairman of the Lepperton Dairy Company, and a prominent farmer of that district, to experiment with a view to ascertaining whether it were not possible to divert some of the milk now used for butter and cheese into some other channel that could provide at least as good a return and so automatically restrict the quantity of dairy produce exported. Having an intimate knowledge of the butchery business, Mr. Openshaw decided to see Whether, instead of killing the calves at the bobby calf stage, it might not be possible to rear them and kill them as vealers. To that end he prepared pens in a shed, in which to try out his experiment. To provide the best quality veal, it was essential that the calves should be stall fed, kept warm (warmth being held to be equal to about 33 per cent of the. value), and given no room to run about It was necessary therefore that plenty of hay should be provided. The returns make interesting reading. Calf No. 1, kept 28 days, killed out at 841bs. which at 4Jd was worth £1 Ils 6d. It cost £1 3s Bd:—ssGlbs. milk at 4.0 test, 221bs. of butterfat at Bd, 14s Bd, linseed meal 2s, bedding 3s, value of bobby calf 4s, thus showing a profit of 7s lOd. Calf No. 2 after 54 days killed out at 1191bs. which, at 4Jd, realised £2 4s 7Jd. It however cost £2 9s 6d, as butterfat was then lOd The details were:—ll2slbs. milk, 4.0 test, 451bs. fat, £1 17s 6d, meal 4s, bedding 3s 6d, bobby calf 4s 6d, showing a loss of 4s 9M. The next calf at 62 days old was killed out at 1541b5. and realised £2 17s 91d, at 4Jd per pound. It cost £2 175:—13321b5. milk, 4.0 test, 53.281b5. fat at 10d., £2 4s 6d, value of bobby calf ss, bedding 3s 6d, meal 4s, a profit of 9Jd. A small calf 56 days old was killed out at 1261b5., realising £2 7s 3d. It cost £2 6s. 8d:—10201bs. milk, 4.0 test, 711bs. fat at lOd, £1 14s 2d, bobby calf ss, bedding 3s 6d, meal 4s, a profit of 7d. The results generally showed that there was a slight profit, reckoning the butterfat at lOd per pound. That included all the milk given to the calf from birth, the early milking which would not have been fit to be sent to the factory also being included. The calves, too, were not specially selected for veal, being all grade Jerseys and containing no big beef cattle among them. There was a good demand locally for the veal, which, it is stated, is vastly superior to runner veal. It will always demand top price on the Home market, 1 where it is locally grown. Next year, Mr. Openshaw intends to try out the Home market. He considers that a good demand for that class of meat could be built up both in New Zealand and on the Home market. If each farmer were to rear 12 calves in that way it would use up in butterfat the equivalent of the milk of two of his cows per annum, or on an average of 50 herds, equivalent to 4 per-cent of his production. There would not be the cost of the feed to consider as the rearing entails no more work than the rearing of calves for sale as weaners. Should such a scheme prove successful it would undoubtedly open up an avenue for the disposal of some butterfat that appears to be surplus in its present exportable form. Every possible avenue in that direction is worthy of the closest investigation.