DAIRY FARMING.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1418, 31 December 1884, Page 2

DAIRY FARMING.

J We take the following from a paper “ read by Mr William Falconer, on Saturi day afternoon, at a meeting of the Oamaru * Farmer’s Club. f GENERAL. ’ So far a brief outline of dairy farming as conducted in this district has been f given ; it is evident that capital, skill, and I industry are required to carry on its 8 operations. The question which now* II may be fairly asked is, Will it pay 1 Will it pay to make dairy farming, as the pro- * duolion of milk for the purpose of selling to a factory or for making butter or oheese at home, the chief business of the farmer. r To enable those interested in the matter to form their own conclusions, I will now ■ lay before you a record of dairy ex* - perience extending over a number of years, and will prefix the statement by re- * marking that the operations of the dairy were subordinate to those the growing of grain, and that the system was that [ usually followed in the district, the cows i living in the open fields all the year > round, a mode of managing the cows not at all to be commended, but it is not the merits or demerits of the system that are to be discussed, but its results. As it was butter that was made and sold, in order that an idea of its value in the local market may be arrived at, the following are the average prices attained during the past six years from the 4th of April to the 4th of April of the ensuing year, 1879, per lb, lid; 1880, par lb. 10id ; 1831, per lb, B|d ; 1882, per lb. 9|d; 1883, per lb; lOd; 1884, per lb, 9£d. The highest price obtained during the .period was Is 9d, and 1 the lowest 6d per lb. Tak'ng the year beginning the 4th of April, 1889. end 1 ending the 4th of April, 1883, which was ! a fair average year from a herd of 18 J cows, representing nearly all the breads ( in this district, the produce in milk was t 8,946 gallons, being an average of 497 i gallons per cow. The highest individual i yield was 820 gallons; the lowest was 280 1 gallons. The amount of butter made r was (in pounds avoirdupois) 3,252, being v an average of 1801 b lOoz per cow. The highest individual yield of batter was P 2931 b ; the lowest was 1021 b. The “ average quantity of milk required to make * a pound of butter was 2} gallons or 11 [ Jj 3 [darts. The average price obtained for g he butter was lOd per lb, realising the | n sum of Ll 35 10s, being at the rate of IflMjk lOs'per cow for butter alone. To has to be added the' value The 18 cows droppi)d l^^^ri|^^^^^^H

gluttony, and three from natural oasjßMjpagi leaving at the end of the year 14 Carfc.*w| of ages varying from 12'to it wo months® and which were good value for I*9,* ■whi»|i gives a credit to the cows or 10s per healHHj In connection with the daisy, a namljsK'i of pigs were fed, in the feeding of whictyu the skim milk from the cows; was an portant factor -, indeed, so much so I value the skim milk at fd per and estimate the quantity given to tn®| pigs at 400 gallons per cow, and that girt® a- further credit of'Ll' sato&each«et>w,jjj|g| chat it now stands to credit —By bnttejHg L 7 IDs ; by calf, 10s ; by skim milk, SL 5s ; total, L 9 ss. From this total quires to be deducted the cost of the labor of milking, : making buttery angß allowance for depreciation iu value, vjiWß may be stated thus—assuming first cost of the cow was L 7 when a(M calved, 10 per cent is a fair allowance «■ make for deterioration when ehe has dry, and that is 14a ; for feed, three acraar is a fair allowance, if supplemented by small quantity of other food winter months. ■V aluing the, land n LlO per acre, the value put on it by valuator appointed by the_ Governments, taking the currant rate of intereat tfaffg per cent., we have a rent of 15s per Add to this property tax, coante* a U«| road board rates; harbor rata and—-gggg 1 the cow could scarcely be charged 1 share of the dog tax, as no dog sbwjßjM 1 allowed near a cow—and we have a rwSHj of 17s per acre, or L2 lie for rent w iHj I acres of land. By bran and cut chaJEH I winter feed 11s; by coat ol unps|H fences, 5s per cow ; by milking .240 ‘ at Sd per day, L 3; by making «nd|M " warding to market 18(Hbs of butteTya^H * per lb, LI 10s. The debit egatajH 1 cow now stands £ a. d^H By Depreciation o i 4 3 „ Rent, 3 acres ... 2 11>^l^H „ Extra food 0 11 ~ t ~ Repairing fences... .0 ' Milking ... ... 3 , e „ Making batter ... 1 8 Total to dobit ... To Credit ... 9 ' a ~ Debit ... ... 8 IBH^H * Net profit balance...