THE £.S.D. OF DAIRYING.

Waipa Post, Volume I, Issue 28, 21 July 1911, Page 4

THE £.S.D. OF DAIRYING.

DEDUCTIONS FROM PRACTICAL TESTS. About a year ago a cow-testing association was established. at Kaupokonui, under the direction of the officers of the Dairy Division of the Department of Agriculture. Last week at Manaia Mr W. Ivl. Singleton, the assistant director of the Dairy Division, delivered an address to the members of the association. He said that the average cow had given up to the present some 57001 b. of milk and 2201 bof butter-fat. This was a fair average, but admitted of - improvement. The average cow in the best herd had produced 78501 b. of milk, consisting of 3201 b. of butter-fat, and the average cow in the worst herd had given 42401 b. of milk, and l6olb. of butter-fat. The difference between the best and the worst equalled about i6olb. of butter-fat per cow, which at is. per lb. v/as worth £B. This variation meant a material difference in the net profit per cow in these two herds. The best cow in the four associations run by the Department this year was to be found in the Kaupokonui Association. This cow had yielded ii,7401b. of milk, from which 507.101 b. of butter-fat had been extracted. Tests brought the question of dairy temperament to the fore in a way that nothing else could. A man realised that a cow must be of such a dairy temperament to milk 9 or 10 months in a season. If a cow went dry after milking 7 or 8 months it meant a loss of about 70lb. of butter-fat, which' v r as worth at Is. per lb, £3 10s. But if they wanted a cow to milk 9 or 10 months they must give attention to feeding her during the off season so that she will calve in good condition. The tests not only emphasised the value of winter feeding, but they brought home the necessity of summer feeding, which is becoming a ■natter of vital importance. On a 30-cow herd there might easily be a drop in the total butter-fat yield of 1701 b., which meant a considerable loss. The care of the dairy calf vras a point that dairy farmers might well give more attention to. He had yet to find one of the highest producing herds amongst cov/s that were not quiet. If dairymen could only see in £ s. d. what they lost from want of careful handling of their stock they would be appalled.

MILK.AND FAT. The question of quantity of milk as against the percentage of butter-fat was another matter of great importance. Farmers were apt to give the test too much attention, to the neglect of the quantity of milk produced. The test had a very marked influence on the quantity of butter-fat, but every practical farmer knew that he was getting the best results when he was getting the largest quantity of milk. To illustrate the unprofitableness of poor cows Mr Singleton first took two cases. One cow milked 233 days, and produced 2351 b. of butter-fat, which at is. per lb. was worth £l2 15s. This cow had not finished milking. A second cow milked for 246 days, and gave 1331 b. of butter-fat. which at is. per lb. was worth £6 13s. For the sake of illustration;, he said, let the annual charge to the owner for a dairy cow be set at £B. Opinions differed on this question, but it was as near the mark as they could get. On the first cow there was a net profit of £4 155., while on the other there was a loss of f I /s. In another case a cow milked for 314 days, and gave 5171 b. of butter-fat, which was worth £25 17s. Deducting the £8 expenses, there was a net gain of £l7 17s. Another cow milked 210 days, and gave 1621 b. of butter-fat, worth £8 25., which meant a profit on his computation of expense of 2s. A man would need about 175 of these kind of cows to get the results obtainable from the one cow he had just mentioned.

THE DAIRYMAN’S JUDGMENT.

Another matter of great interest in connection with the tests was the selection made by farmers of the eight best cows in their herds. They wanted to see what the judgment of the average dairyman was like. A number selected good cows. One had selected as one of his best a cow that gave 269111 of butter-fat, but he did not select another which gave about 100 lb more, and the difference between the two cows was represented by £4 18s. The owner of this last cow was on the verge of selling her for £lO when he received the result of the test. An-

other farmer selected a cow giving 1791 bof butter-fat, and passed over one that gave 3331 b. Here there was a difference of 1541 b, equal to £7 14s. The owner of a Holstein thought of selling her for about £2 10s, also her heifer calf, tie discovered by the tests that she was one of the best cows in his herd, and £ls would not buy her to-day. Tests had shown that one cow gave iqlb of butter-fat in 35 days, another 281 b in 55 days, and another 581 b in 121 days. WHAT TESTING DOES.

Such results showed what cows to cull out. The right milking strain was of more importance than the purity of the breed, but he believed that if a farmer could get both he would be willing to pay almost any money. The testing enabled a farmer to select the best calves for his future herd and this was worth more to him than 10 times the whole cost of testing. It also created a great interest in the boy on the farm aiid would be an inducement to him to remain there. He condemned the system of culling by the weight of milk at the beginning of the season. One cow had given 451 b. of milk at the flush of the season, 2641 b. of but-ter-fat for the full period. Another cow gave 341 b. of milk at the flush and 3451 b. of butter-fat for the season. In order that they might get at The worth of a cow they must take the quantity of milk and the quality together.