HERD-TESTING ASSOCIATIONS.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XX, Issue 3, 20 March 1920, Page 174

HERD-TESTING ASSOCIATIONS.

THE PART OF THE DAIRY DIVISION.

W. M. SINGLETON,

Assistant Director, Dairy Division.

The testing of dairy herds for production is increasing in popularity, and as a result more of this work has been undertaken by the Dairy Division during the present season than hitherto has been the case. The work is additional to that done by dairy companies who employ private testing officers either at a wage or at a definite rate per cow. When associations are large enough to afford sufficient employment for a testing officer to devote his full time to this work, or where a testing officer can test for two or more smaller associations, the work in the majority of cases is being carried on satisfactorily.. Unfortunately, not all companies have sufficient cow-testing offering to keep a testing officer fully occupied; neither is it always convenient, because of the distance between dairying centres, to increase the number of associations under such officer’s control. Doubtless, however, there are districts where proper organization would remove the difficulty. Some of the dairy companies have asked the Dairy Division to appoint testing officers at the company’s expense. In a few instances this was done, although later developments modified the financial arrangements and also the status of the officer, whereby he was asked to do some instruction work amongst the milk-suppliers as well as to take control of the cow-testing association. By providing less experienced assistance for some of the detail work connected with the testing the official is -given an opportunity for more outside work. This method appears to be working very 'satisfactorily indeed. Moreover, it enables the dairy company to get most value from the official’s time. In other instances the organization of cow-testing associations has. been accomplished by energetic and enthusiastic factory-managers. They, in various companies, have ' secured sufficient support for a moderate-sized association and undertaken the testing and figuring. Such work, however, usually takes up too much of a manager’s time,, so that in some-instances it has been found difficult, and even impossible, to continue this praiseworthy enterprise. , -The extension of the testing of purebred dairy cows by the Dairy Division has each year necessitated the appointment of additional testing officers. There are now some seventeen officers engaged in this, work, and the increased demand for the testing has brought them into districts which previously were not regularly visited. This being so, the Division has had an opportunity of coming to the rescue of a number of cow-testing associations that would otherwise have become defunct. A number of these are included in the list of twenty-seven associations, for which Dairy Division officers are this season testing and figuringreturns. In addition to sustaining associations which could not haveotherwise survived, new ground has been broken and the testing carried, into other districts. Having received departmental approval for theextension of the testing work on this systemunder which the dairy company guarantees the Department the testing-fee of two shillings per

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Association Association Average. Highest Herd-average. Lowest Herd-average. • Highest Herd-average. Lowest Herd-average. Milk. Test. Fat. Milk. Test. Fat... Milk. Test. . Fat. lb.. % ■ lb. lb. ■ °/o lb. lb. % lb. . I 1,099 3’7 40-76 1,168 5-o 58-23 944 3-5 33-29 2 974 3’6 35’07 1,175 3-8 45-23. - 744 3-5 26-34 3 880 3’5 3I-58 I , 115 4’2 47-77 595 3-4' 20-51 4 920 3’4 3I-69 I , 240 - 3’4 ■ 42-38 626 3'4 21-52 5 890 4-o 36-68 1,123 4-2 47-55 679 3-8 ' 25-80 6 874 4'3 36’69 ' 893 4-7 41-53 747 ■■ 4’3 31-87 7 797 3'9. 31-77 923 5-i 47-46 645 3'5 22-59 8 828 4-3 35-7° 885 6-i 54-19 492 3-8 18-60 9 ' 816 . 4'3 35-26 905 5’3 48-26 662 4’2 28-09 IO 908 4-0 37-10 961 ' 4-2 40'49 824 4-2 34-26 ii 874 3’9 34-44 900 4’7 42-68 606 4-3 26-12 12 986 , 4-1 4 o -85 1,290 3-8 49-19 866 3-9: 33’37 13 621 4-0 25-19 651 4’9 32-17 498 3-5 17-45 4 862 4'3 37-o8 1 , 062 4’3 45-56 836 . 3-7 30-70 15 924 4’2 38-80 980 ' 4'7 46-50 836 ‘ 3-« 31-46 16 823 4’1 34-oi 1,023 4-0 41-37-711 3-5 24-81 17 860 ' 3-9 34-14 916 4'5 41-79 635 3-9-25-24 18 906 4'3 38-99 1,340 3’6 47-71 730 3-7 27-15 19 904 4-0 36-99 1,038 4’5 46-27-715 4-0 28-95 20 973 4-0 39-34 I , 187 4’2 50-13 925 ■ 3’5 32-34 21 929 4’3 - 39-94 97° . 5-o ■ 48-91 860 3’7 32-13 22 964 4'2 40-63 1,237 4-5 56-02 941 3'6 34-18 23 874 4’2 . 36-53 1,170. 4-6 53-98 612 4-i 25-52 24 890 3’9 34-7 1,070-4-2 . 44-07 643 3’7 23-62 25 612 3'8 23-58 . 1,155 3’9 45’29 .. 362 : 3-6 13-36 26 77i 4-4 33'89 901 , 4’9 44-17 624 3’5 21-82 27 842 4’2 35-26 1,157 4'9 57-24 . 655 3’7 24-20. Average of all associations : 874 lb milk, . milk, 4-1 test, 35-43 lb. fat. 4-1 test, 35-43 lb. fat.

An example of summarized figures for the testing associations now operated by Dairy Division officers may be interseting to Journal readers. The results of the tests for the thirty-day period ending in December, 1919, were as follows: