THE JOURNAL OF THE Department of Agriculture.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume V, Issue 1, 15 July 1912, Page 1

THE JOURNAL OF THE Department of Agriculture.

Volume 5, No. 1.

WELLINGTON, N.Z., . * . 15TH JULY, 1912.

Price, Sixpence.

HERD-TESTING.

The, following paper by

Mr. W. Burgess,

of Warea, Taranaki, read at the recent

Dairy Conference at Palmerston' North, is probably the best pronouncement on the important question it treats of -that has been made in this- country. ' •

/"CONSIDERING the very great importance of knowing which cows pay and which do not, it is astonishing so few farmers avail themselves

of the absolutely certain means we have at hand — of weighing and testing —to decide the question. No part of their time could be more profitably employed than that ■ devoted to carrying it out. Without its practice no herd will be entirely composed of good cows; and regular and certain improvement will be impossible; except by purchasing, at a very high price, the best cows to be obtained. i By its adoption any farmer may feel confident that his returns will steadily increase, and that, by proper care and the use of a good bull, he will in a very few years be the owner of a herd infinitely.'superior to the one he now has. New-Zealanders sometimes claim to -lead the world, but in this particular direction they are getting left badly behind by some of their competitors. True,

here and there a few have been carrying on the work for a considerable time, and recently the Dairy Produce - Division of . the Department of Agriculture has been doing good work in establishing testing associations; but instead of the practice being confined to a few it should be universal. As a class, farmers are not inclined to experiment, and perhaps are not to be much blamed for this, as their time is generally too fully occupied in doing work that is fairly certain to make some return to spend much of it in experimenting. But herdtesting has long ago ceased to be merely an experiment: the results from it are as certain as mathematics. The Danes, Swedes, and other of our competitors, by its use, have evolved from very indifferent breeds herds that are giving what would have been thought a few years ago wonderful returns; and if we would not be left behind we have no option but to follow the same practice. . With the price of land, labour, and farm requisites all rising, the old style of being content with cows some of which are making good and some very poor returns will no longer suffice. If we are to retain and improve our position we must avail ourselves of every possible means to increase our output and decrease, the cost of production. Nothing else will produce so much result in this direction at so small an outlay as regular and constant weighing and testing.

' It may appear rather presumptuous on my part to read a paper of this sort before a meeting composed of the leading dairy-farmers and Government experts of the country, but the very fact that the writer is one of themselves —possessing no advantages in the way of training that they do not possess, depending upon dairying for a living, having made. considerable improvement in his herd by practising what he is preaching, without having bought a single high-priced cow or heifer, on land of only ordinary quality, and with feed such as any ordinary farmer can grow, may appeal more strongly to the average farmer than an address by a specialist or one who has not had to study cost in obtaining results.

It is by no means unusual to hear a farmer say he does not need scales .or tester, as he knows the cows that fill the bucket without their assistance, or that his cows are doing as well as those of other people. But any one who has used the scales and tester soon knows that, without their use, any man may be very far out in his estimate, and that good average herds that have not been tested contain many cows that are not worth keeping. Cows giving a large flow of milk may be found at the end of the season near the bottom of the list, owing either to their short lactation period or to a low percentage of fat, whilst others giving but a moderate quantity may, through, persistent milking or a high test, finish the season on top. The idea that the quality of milk can be judged by its appearance is soon dispelled

by the use of the Babcock, which shows it to be a delusion. Nothing but : regular and careful weighing and testing right through the lactation period can fix with any degree of certainty the value of cows, but by this means the values can be fixed with absolute certainty. Individual cows may, and do, vary as much as three or four points in test and 20 per cent, in the weight of their milk within a week without any apparent cause, so that an occasional weighing and . testing may be quite misleading, and is certainly not reliable.

Cows ' are not simply machines, taking in a certain amount of raw material and turning out a fixed proportion of the finished article in the shape of milk, but highly strung, sensitive animals, sometimes feeling quite fit and at other times not quite up to the mark. A common belief that cows vary so much from season to season that testing for one season is but of little use is not borne out by an experience of six years’ careful weighing and testing. On the contrary, it has proved that individual cows make very much the same returns for a .good many seasons when once they have reached maturity. Doubtless when several of them are making fairly equal returns the one that is just on top this year may be second, third, or fourth next year, and so on, but unless there is some very good reason for it, such as : late calving or ill health, they maintain about the same relative position in the herd until age begins to tell on them. It may safely be: assumed that no successful merchant long continues dealing in articles on which no profit is realized, but uses every effort to increase his trade in those which pay for handling, and the dairy-farmer must work on the same lines if he too would be successful. The wedgeshape, the escutcheon, fine long tail with plenty of brush at the end, the colour of the skin, and numerous other points are regarded by many as certain indications of a good cow. They certainly are of some value in the show ring, and may have some merit as an index to milking-qualities; but all of them are far. from being infallible. Then why rely upon them when an unerring guide is at hand ?

If personally carried out by the owner of the herd, weighing and testing has much to recommend it in addition to putting the proper value on every cow. Being ;in the milking-shed, say, morning and evening, on one day in each week, he soon knows how his cows are being handled by the different milkers. Should a sudden shrinkage occur in the output his attention is at once drawn to the fact and the reason for it sought. It may prove to be scarcity of water, being hurried into the yard, or kept in one paddock too long. Whatever the cause may be, when attention is once drawn to it, it can generally be remedied before much harm is done. If any particular cow is far below her usual performance, whilst the others are at about normal, she will be examined at once to see what is wrong. Again, knowing

that the production of each cow will be recorded by the owner creates a healthy rivalry amongst the milkers to show the best results from the cows milked by ' them, which certainly tends to better iriilking being done. These side-issues alone would be worth most of the time and the very .small, expense necessary to carry on weighing and testing.

In our Courts of justice hearsay evidence is regarded as of little value, but much importance is attached to the evidence of a witness who has seen or heard what he is giving evidence upon, so perhaps it may be pardonable to relate my own experience of weighing and testing. Six years ago the writer of this paper had a conversation with the Secretary of the National Dairy Association, Mr. J. G. Harkness, on the subject of this paper, and was so convinced of its importance that the necessary apparatus was soon after obtained. During the following season the milk of each cow was weighed and tested and evening on sixteen days throughout the milking-period.. The results were a revelation. The herd consisted of thirty ordinary cows, and neither the milkers nor the owner had any idea that, there was any great difference. in their value, ■ yet when arraigned in order of merit at the end of the season and a line drawn through the centre of the list, those on top of it averaged 50 per cent, more butter-fat than did those, below it, whilst four cows produced twice as much each as did twelve of , those at the bottom of the list, and this in spite of the supposed worst cows having been freely turned out at the end of each milking-period, whilst the average output was quite up to of that, the neighbourhood.. At the end of the season . eight of the worst cows were culled out and replaced by five cows and three heifers bought at clearing sales in the neighbourhood. From then till now (a period of five years) the milk of each cow has been weighed and a sample taken for testing at the morning and evening’s milking on one day in each week right through the lactation period.

Cost of the Work. ' ' : 1 £ s. ■ cl. Capital outlay, say £lO at 10 per cent. .. 10 0 Acid 1 gallon, three-quarter bottle tabloids (25.) .. 0 5 4 Four hours per week for fifty weeks weighing, at Is. 10 0 0 Five hours each for twelve testings .. .. 3 0 0 £l4 5 . 4 Thirty-two cows tested, average per cow .. £0 811

None of the records extended over more than twelve months; the average length of time was forty weeks.

A spring balance, with dial face, and the index hand set back to allow for the weight of the bucket, is suspended at that end of the shed nearest, the milk-stand. Close by, on shelves, stands a samplebottle labelled with the number against which each cow is entered on the list, and a sheet on which the weights are entered, whilst a dipper to contain the quantity of milk required for testing purposes, hangs on a nail ready to use. Each milker brings the milk of one cow at a time immediately it is drawn. This is placed on the scales, and the weight of milk entered against the name of the. cow giving it, while the required quantity for testing purposes is put into the right bottle. The whole process causes but a very slight, delay in milking, probably not more than two minutes for every ten cows milked. At the end of every four weeks the samples are tested and the tests entered against. the names of the proper cows. The results are easily worked out whenever convenient. It would surprise many of those who have never attempted it to find how interesting the work becomes ; so that very soon one begins to look ‘ upon it as .no task, but a pleasant and very profitable way of employing time. In 1906-7 the work, of course, resulted in nothing but finding out the real value of the individual cows. The average production of butter-fat for ,this season was. 198 lb., and it had taken six years of heavy culling, without the aid of scales and tester, to reach this, although only three of the herd were first cal vers.

Experience had taught . the ' unreliability of cows that could be bought, and it was determined to attempt, breeding up, so a pure-bred Ayrshire bull, of fairly good milking strain, was bought from the Department, of Agriculture to start the next season with.

As a result ,of weeding out the worst cows the average production of butter-fat rose to 222 lb. for the 1907-8 season, a gain of 24 lb. for each cow, or 7201 b. for the thirty. This surely should encourage those who think it will take years to produce any result to . start at once, seeing what even one year at it will do. . True, it will take years to build up a first-class herd capable of reproducing its good qualities, but the first year’s operations are a step towards it, and if followed up will certainly lead to ultimate success, whilst handsomely repaying the trouble almost from the start.,

The average production of butter-fat for the next season . was 234 lb., an increase of 12 lb. per cow, notwithstanding that six were first calvers as' against three in the previous season. At the end of this season (1908-9) only two cows were turned out, and six heifers, bred on the .. farm from the best cows, were brought in. During the 1909-10 season the thirty-two cows milked returned an . average of 241 lb. of butter-fat. This increase of only 7 lb. per cow over the previous season may appear small, but taking into consideration that

the heifers are brought in at two years’ old, and that there were six of them-in the herd together with six that had only been brought in the year before, the result was not unsatisfactory. Having now raised the standard to at least 220 lb. for any cow that was to be retained, seven that did not come up to it were culled, and one of the best got accidentally killed.’ Six heifers from the best cows were again brought in, and a fresh Ayrshire bull with high milking • records for his dam and grand-dam was procured.

During the 1910-11 season thirty cows were milked, and for the first time there was a decline in the output. .. This was not due to any tendency to deteriorate, but solely to the scarcity of water and absence of succulent food caused by the very dry summer, for which adequate preparation had not been made. This fact will be shown by the figures for the season just ended. Three cows were this time culled, and five heifers, bred as before, were added. For the season just ending thirty-two cows were milked for an average. return of 261 lb. butter-fat. This shows an increase of 63 lb. of butter-fat for each cow since testing was started six years ago. Some lessons taught by the .scales and tester have been: That it .is impossible to gauge with any degree of certainty the value 'of individual cows without their use ; that a cow which is a persistent milker with a fairly high test, although giving but a moderate amount of milk at each milking, generally comes out on top ; that a heifer brought in at. two years old seldom reaches her best until the fifth or sixth time of calving ; and that a large proportion of good cows, although of no particular breed, if put to a purebred bull of good milking strain, produce good heifers.

There can be no doubt ■ that culling without weighing and testing is doing work very much in the dark, and that cows are sometimes turned out that are. better than are many of those retained. In order to improve the herd a large proportion of heifers from the best cows have been-bought in each year. Of course, for the time being this considerably reduces the average output, as two-year-old heifers do well to produce two-thirds as much as a cow in her prime, but in a few years the necessity for introducing so many will. have passed away, and the output may be confidently expected to increase largely. But in spite of this drawback the annual increase of production is making a handsome return for the time taken up, and at the same time laying the foundation for something much better in the future. The average test for the herd, as shown by the factory-manager, for 1910-11 was 3-93, whilst that shown on the farm was 3-91 (a difference of just over | per cent.), which shows that the work can be carried out .with a fair degree of accuracy under ordinary farm conditions. The slightly lower test on the farm than at the factory is probably due to the former being taken in an ordinary shed, where the J fat-column shrinks rapidly when the weather is cold, whilst the testing-room at the factory can be kept at a fairly high temperature. As an excuse for not follow-

ing the practice, it is sometimes said that if all were to do so it would be impossible to replace the large number of cows turned out by better ones. But even in a good average herd some cows will be found that are being kept at an absolute loss, and were they culled without being replaced it is quite probable that those remaining, owing to better feed and attention, would make a bigger gross return than the whole did previously. Still, if one is determined to keep up his number, heifers can be bought at any ordinary sale that will in three cases out of four make better . cows than the worst to be found in the herd. The most certain way to improve is to save heifers from the best cows by a good purebred bull of milking strain and replace the culls by these. Of course, it may be . contended that this method, if it were adopted, would reduce the number of cows that could be kept, and therefore the output of milk. If no improved methods of farming were adopted .the first part of . the contention would be valid; but it by no means follows that the output would decrease. Cows under healthy conditions will milk at least eight seasons, and in cases as many as twelve or more, before getting. much past their best. During the six years that records have been, kept the annual increase per cow according .to the number of calves she has had has been 16 per cent, for second over first, 12 per cent, for third over second, 5 per cent, for fourth over third, and 3 per cent, for -fifth over fourth. For the sixth and seventh neither increase nor decrease was shown, whilst in the case of three with the eighth calf two increased and one decreased, of two with the ninth one increased and one decreased, one with the tenth decreased, and one with the eleventh decreased, but even in. the case’ of the oldest, was producing more than : at the third calving. Two others whose age .is not known, but which must have had at - least • twelve calves, are still .profitable. Taking eight.seasons as the average, then heifers equal in. number to 12| per . cent, of the cows must be kept each season ; and, allowing that they. are brought in-at two years old, this would involve keeping-on the farm heifers equalling in number .25 per cent, of the cows. But as they would only average about seven months of age in the early spring, when feed is of most importance, it may safely be assumed that they would not require more feed than would suffice for 12 per cent, to 13 per cent, of the cows.

The figures previously given show an increased, production of about 12 per cent, as the result of the year’s testing — to pay for all the decrease caused by keeping all the heifers necessary. If the results for six years are taken it shows, that the heifers can be kept and still there will be 16 per cent, more milk to dispose of. Those who rear heifers from the best cows by a good bull will! gradually but certainly build up a herd that will pay handsomely. Should this method be adopted there will be some cows to dispose of every year, nothing to spend in buying cows, and the risk of introducing diseases which may prove disastrous will be

largely avoided. A far less sum than the increase in receipts resulting from weighing and testing spent in extra manures and cultivation will enable as many cows to be kept as well as providing feed enough upon which to rear heifers. By doing this the fertility of the land would be increased instead of gradually but surely decreased, as is taking place in too many instances, whilst the farmer, would benefit himself and the whole country, and be a far more useful member of the community than the mere soilrobber. He who makes two blades of grass grow where but one grew before has been described as a benefactor to humanity. How much more must he be a benefactor who not only produces the two blades but uses each to far better. purpose ! Factory-managers accustomed to work on scientific lines would be delighted to see suppliers doing the same, and would gladly give lessons in testing, so that any farmer of ordinary intelligence would have no difficulty in learning how to do it. In some of the leading dairying countries, the almost universal adoption of the practice has had wonderful results in increasing the output, although originally the dairy cattle were. of no particular value; and if the dairy-farmers of New Zealand would but follow their example the increase in output would completely put in the shade that which has been made in the past, great though that admittedly is. The possibilities are enormous. The present output, variously estimated to average from 160 to 180 lb. of butter-fat for the whole Dominion, could easily be increased to 240 lb. in a very few years, , and soon 300 lb. or more could be looked for with confidence. What this would mean to farmers and the whole Dominion can hardly be imagined. Some testing associations and a few individual farmers are keeping records, and this undoubtedly is a. good thing for the industry, but something more than this is wanted. In the case of associations the owner of the cows or an employee takes the samples and weights, which are forwarded to the officer of the Department to be tested and the returns made up. The man who takes the samples and weighs the milk practically determines what those returns will be, so that if he wishes to advertise his herd he has a ready way of doing it. The same applies to individual farmers. No doubt a very large majority are doing the work conscientiously, and are quite certain that their records are accurate, but some method of putting a hall-mark on them ,is required, so that a buyer when purchasing may feel fairly certain f .that he gets what he wants. If this could be done the grading-up could be carried on with much more certain results, and progress would be much accelerated. In the majority of cases where testing is being carried on the milk is being delivered to a factory where records of the weight and test .of the milk are kept. Would it not be possible for an official of the Dairy Department to pay an occasional visit at milking-time to the sheds of those who are weighing and testing, weigh and test the milk, compare the results with those credited by the owner to individual cows, then compare the totals as

shown by the owner and the factory, and finally get the total for the season from each to compare ? If (after allowing for the quantity of new milk used for calves and domestic purposes) the results are tallied, there would be convincing evidence that the ' records were correct, and a certificate to that effect could be issued. This hall-marking, whether done by the Department, the National Dairy Association, or the agricultural societies, ‘if properly done, would benefit the industry to perhaps, as large -an extent as anything yet done by any of them.

A point that deserves the consideration of agricultural societies in dairying districts is whether the time has not arrived to introduce classes at their shows in which nothing can be entered except cows with a milk record or bulls and heifers descended from cows with a milk record.. Probably the entries would be very few to start with, but the . demand for such a class of ' stock by progressive dairy-farmers, and the price they would be . ready to pay for it, would soon induce breeders to qualify for entry. Phenomenal records produced by extravagant feeding, regardless of cost and regardless of its effect upon the constitution of the animal and her reproductive powers, can scarcely be considered of any general benefit. Neither can those produced through extending the lactation period over more than one season, and in awarding. prizes only those records made in not more than twelve months, and under such conditions as are practical, should be taken into consideration.

Too much importance has hitherto been attached in the show-ring to points that imply no monetary return and too little to those that are really essential. Capacity for production combined with strong constitution cover pretty well all the commercial side of the question, but if those which appeal to the sense of the beautiful can be, added so much the better ; still, they can scarcely be regarded as of anything like the same importance. Proper rearing of heifers, easy access to water, frequent change of paddocks, a supply of succulent feed for dry weather, the provision of winter feed and shelter from the cold wind, quiet handling, thorough milking, and a good bull are all big factors in producing largereturns, but without weighing and testing will fail to produce the result they should, and, in fact, be to a large extent wasted..

Weighing and testing is to the farmer what proper book-keeping is tothe merchant, and without it he can r never be certain what return he is. getting for expenditure. In order r to protect purchasers ,of cows proposals have been made that all cows turned out after testing should bebranded as useless. The motive prompting this proposal is admirable, but if carried out might act in quite a different way to that intended. From herds that have been long tested cows are being turned out that would yield 40 per cent, or 50 per cent, more than the average cow that, has not been tested, and it would certainly not help those beginning tograde up to have these branded as worthless. That something should

be done to protect the buyer from vendors who would foist upon him cows that are of no use may be admitted. Possibly compelling the vendor to produce the record, or having it branded on the cow, might meet the case. The records without taking into consideration the circumstances under which they have been made are scarcely sufficient to establish the actual value of cows. Probably cows that average 240 lb. of butter-fat on land that will carry only a cow to 2| or 3 acres would average 280 lb. on land that would carry one to 1 acre or 1| acres. It can hardly be expected that so big a return will be made where most of the time is employed in finding sufficient food as where cows can rest a large part of the time. It is not a few record-breaking cows, kept under exceptional conditions, that are going to raise the output of this Dominion (or any other country) to ■ its highest, but the persistent grading-up by. the use of scales and tester will do it, and every owner of a herd can do his part in a work which would place dairying in a position such as few can realize.

The dislike that many have for pure breeds of dairy cattle is rather difficult to understand. We have three leading breeds of cattle that have been developed by many years of careful selection for the special purpose of milk-production under very different circumstances. The Jersey has been reared in a mild climate on small areas, intensely cultivated, and has been carefully tended; the Ayrshire originated in a more rigorous climate, ' and had to range over a wider area to obtain sufficient food; whilst the Holstein comes from a country of lowlying fields, where the growth is luxuriant and succulent. Amongst these breeds it should be possible for any farmer to find the foundation of a herd to suit his conditions; and it does not appear the shortest road .to success to ignore the advance made and start building up again from the bottom. First crosses, are often excellent, but unfortunately one cannot stop at the first, and when it comes to the second or third nothing is certain except that a large proportion will be useless mongrels. In comparing the records of different breeds, in order to arrive at a conclusion as to which of them will give us the best return, several other things beside the total production of butterfat need consideration. A particular breed on luxuriant feed may make better returns than . another. Put them on rather scanty feed and the position may be reversed. Or, again, some breeds may consume much more than others, and possibly, though making a bigger individual return,. may be paying .no better. Many things of this sort may affect the issue, but the majority of farmers . could not possibly work out these points with any amount of satisfaction, and it is here that experimental farms might be of great benefit to the industry. Almost any supplier to a dairy factory who knew that an avoidable waste of 10 per cent., or even half of 10 per cent., were

going on there would express his feeling pretty strongly, and rightly so, and yet will allow a waste of anything up to 50 per cent, to continue in the produce of his cows rather than check it by the use of scales and tester. This appears . very much a case of “ straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel,” and certainly not good business, when ■even with a small herd the total annual cost of the work, if done on one day in each week right through the season, and payment for all time put in allowed for, would not exceed Bs. or 9s. per cow, and in the case of large herds much less, whilst the return, even after the first year, would almost certainly be enough to pay the cost three or four times over. Anything that will pay three or four hundred per cent, on the investment is surely about as good an investment as is likely to come our way, and any who do not think it sufficiently good are to be envied for the extremely profitable way in which they have found opportunities for investing the whole of their time and capital, or pitied for the inertia that prevents them from making use of it. The details given above relate to the grading-up of a small herd of mixed breeding, but it must not be assumed that the writer considers this the best way of working. Pure breeds perpetuate their qualities with much more certainty than crosses, and doubtless much better and more permanent improvement would result from using them ; but the difficulty at present is the small number that can be found with good records well authenticated. When such are to be found the work of grading up by the use of scales and tester will become comparatively easy.

As no unnecessary difficulties should be placed in the way of beginners, just a word or two here about the apparatus for testing on the market may not be out of place. Test-bottles with narrow necks and wide necks, correctly and incorrectly graded, some heavier and some lighter than others, are to be found, and cause considerable trouble to the novice. The same applies to pipettes and acid-measures. Of course, when the stamp is on them the proper grading is guaranteed, but why allow a lot of not merely useless but misleading stuff to be sold ? About the weight and size of test-bottles there is no guarantee, and their variations in these particulars cause considerable vibration in the testing-machine, thereby injuring it and to some extent interfering with the test. -

In conclusion, this paper was written with no intention of advertising the merits of the writer’s herd (many in this room doubtless own far better), but simply to show by facts and figures, for the accuracy of which he can vouch, what can be done under conditions within the reach of all. If it helps to induce any to start weighing and testing its object will have been attained, and the writer will feel proud to have taken a part (however small) in a movement that is certain to be of the greatest benefit to the dairying industry of the Dominion.