HERD TESTING

Waipa Post, Volume 45, Issue 3212, 4 August 1932, Page 4

HERD TESTING

AND WHAT IT CAN DO. Reasoning people foresee that within a comparatively few years a man can revolutionise his business by means of herd testing, that is wnen he tests his herd consistently from year to year and benefits from all the lessons to be drawn from the valuable accumulated figures. Those who have used herd test.ng figures to the hmit now nave practical proui of its possibilities. One Taranaki man's experience provides a stimulating exampie. He is farming 117 acres of decidedly second class country; In the season 1918-19 (when he was sharemilking on it) the fat production was 5656 lb, and on the following season 1898 lb. Then he bought the property, the total cost of the farm as a going concern being £4OOO. He paid £SOO cash, the interest bill the first year being £192. He tested from the first, by the individual system for a year or two and then joined up with the group system. Here is how he has progressed according to butter fat supplied to his co-operative dairy company: 1920-21, 6235 lb; 1921-22, 9104 lb; 1922-23, 9672 lb; 1923-24, 10,079 lb; 1924-25, 10,546 lb; 1925-26, 11,151 lb; 1926-27, 11,573 lb; 1927-28, 11,7111 b; 1928-29, 13,263 lb; 1929-30, 13,502 lb; 1930-31, 14,592 lb; 1931-32, over 1500 lb butter fat.

At the present time the farm carries 56 cows, 9 18-monxhs heifers, 16 calves, 50 sheep, 2 bulls and 4 horses. The pasture is poor, hardly a ryegrass plant to be seen. Frankly the owner admits he made a bad mistake of using nothing but southern ryegrass seed. Now that he has graded up his herd to a good standard he is going to grade up his pastures. He can afford to do this well as in the coming August he is going to town to have the great pleasure of paying off the balance of his mortgage, and the farm he bought eleven years ago will, thanks to herd testing, be his own and he will enjoy the glorious privilege of being absolutely independent.