HIGH-CLASS BEEF

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 18832, 21 March 1931, Page 10 (Supplement)

HIGH-CLASS BEEF

RETENTION OF CALF FLESH. To produce the highest-class beef animal, he must, in the first place, be well bred; and, secondly, every care must be exercised that what is termed the calf flesh is never lost at any period of his life; If we trace the lifehistory of the large proportion of the fat cattle exhibited and sold in our fairs and markets, says an English paper, we will find that little attention has been given to the retention of calf flesh. Granted that much improvement could, and should, be made in the matter of attraction to breeding from good pedigree sires, there cannot be a doubt but that the ordinary stock, if properly attended to from their birth, can be fed to TieCbme a higher class of beef animals than what the large majority are at present. In many districts, after being insufficiently reared as calves, the young animals are badly fed and left out exposed to wet and cold, to coSimence their second year robbed of the natural flesh they ought never to have been deprived of and which no amount of good feeding can ever replace. FRIESIAN NOTES. A grade Friesian cow, Jessie, owned by Chas. Achenbach of Rhode Island, U.S.A., was 19 years old on Bth November, 1929. She has had 17 living calves, and during her 17 years of production she has averaged 12221 lb. milk and 459.51 b. fat. This last year at 19 years of age she produced 129381 b. milk and 5041 b. fat. During her lifetime she has produced 207,7751 b. milk and 7816.31 b. fat.

Springbank Snow Countess, a Canadian pedigree Friesian, recently completed her fourth record above 1001 b. fat. Her production records are: 7491 b. fat at 2 years; 9791 b. fat at 3 years. And as a cow:—ll24lb. fat, 11221 b. fat, 11131 b. fat, 10251 b. fat. Her total production for 6 lactations is 61231 b. fat as compared with the toal of 5331.91 b. fat for Vive La France, the Jersey record cow. Springbank Snow Countess also holds the world's record for five lactations with a total of 5364 lb. fat and for four lactations with a total of 43851 b. fat. Her four consecutive records over 10001 b. average 1096.24 lb. fat, and it is worthy of note that every one of her six records has been made with an average test of from 4.18 p.c. to 4.5 p.c.

The leading dairy herd for production of butterfat in the State of Michigan, U.S.A. for the past two years was the Friesian herd owned by Doan Straub 'of Galien. In 1928 his herd averaged 14,6791 b. milk and 563.81 b. fat, ajid in 1929 they averaged 16,6031 b. milk ■and 621.231 b. fat.