HERD RECORDING

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 148, 17 April 1940, Page 4

HERD RECORDING

WORK OF THE DEPARTMENT OUTLINE BY MR R. A. CANDY Giving an outline of the work clone by the Herd Recording Department at the Ward Conference of the Dairy Board yesterday. Mr R. ACandy said that the Department's activities were divided into three main parts: the collection of information; the tabulating of the information and its dissemination. When the Department was first established a good deal of the pre-t liminary information had been supplied by the Herd Testing Association. One of the tasks of the Department was to determine the effect on production of disease incidence. Another was to investigate the question' of sterility. Other investigations were, the efffect of calving on production, 'heredity, the tabulation of causes of herd wastage and what was known as 'sire survey work/ In discussing the value of this work, Mr Candy said that the 'efficient producer' constituted only '20 per cent of the total of the Dominion's dairy farmers. He observed also that though there had been a slight increase in production in New Zealand over the season, there had been 60,.000 fewer cows in milk than last year and that the number of young stock reared the year be-« fore last was sc reduced as to mean; a diminution of the number of cows in milk next season, and this was estimated to mean a reduction of a further 40.000 to 60,000 cows. In concluding his address Mr Candy appealed to dairy farmers to rear as many calves as possible in( the coming year. This was necessary for the future economic standard of the Dominion.