COW TESTING.

Waipa Post, Volume III, Issue 147, 20 September 1912, Page 4

COW TESTING.

LOCATING THE UNPROFITABLE COW. Speaking at the annual meeting of the Eketahuna Cow Testing Association, the chairman stated that the year’s work had given members an indication, which they could not otherwise have obtained, of the value to them of the cows Tnilked. This knowlege was invaluable to the man determined to make money out of dairying. He compared the herd showing the greatest return with that showing the lowest. The one herd, taking butter-fat at is per lb, had returned the owner £l3 is 46 per head, and the other £6 2s 9d, a difference of £6 18s 5d per cow. The testing had,demonstrated'that one man’s cows were worth as much again as the other man’s. This was an object-lesson, which should appeal to all dairymen. It was impossible to pick out the best average cows in the ordinary way, as members of the association had ascertained to their loss, The work of the association also demonstrated the fact that twofifths of the cows tested were unprofitable to those who milked, them. It was generally understood that unless a cow produced butter-fat to the value of £8 10s for the season, with butter-fat at is per lb, she was not showing a profit to the owner. The average of all the cows tested showed they produced £8 18s 9d, or a total profit of 8s 9d per head. At this rate settlers were not going to pay off their mortgages very quickly, and it appeared that intense culling was needed and the herds generally improved if dairying was to prove a profitable industry to the district. He contended that cows which did not produce 2001b,0f butter-fat in a season were not worth keeping, and dairymen should aim at this maximum and over. He recognised a shortage would be created if everybody culled heavily, but settlers could rear young stock from the best cows in place of grazing duffers, and matters would soon right themselves. Again, instead of sacrificing the. culls, they could be speyed and milked throughout the winter and sold for beef early in the summer at a good figure. He was pleased to see the Government was assisting associations, and he thought they should go further and insist on every cow which did not show a profitable return being branded. This would prevent other dairy,men being saddled with the culls.