THE STATE FARMS

Waikato Argus, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5341, 23 June 1913, Page 2

THE STATE FARMS

TO MAINTAIN A STANDARD. The director of experimental farms (Mr E. Cilfton), during an address to the New Zealand Jersey Breeders’ Association at Palmerston North, pointed out that the Department did not aim at competing with private breeders, but it had work to preform in helping to maintain a standard. He hoped that the proposed Board of Agriculture would include at least one of the North Island's most able dairy farmers. Referring to the Ruakura State Farm he stated that he was desirous of increasing the herd there with more stock but he had been unable to do so owing to breeders of Jersey stock objecting to the State competing, as they said, against other buyers at sales. This was regrettable, to the speaker’s mind, and he did not see the position in that light. He contrasted the lands at Ruakura and Weraroa, and pointed out how impossible it was to change the herds from one place to the other. Mr Clifton urged all dairy farmers in the Dominion to be more considerate of their cows, which, he pointed out, were milked hard all summer, and then turned out to starve in winter.