NON-STRIPPING

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 232, 1 November 1940, Page 5

NON-STRIPPING

SUCCESSFUL AMERICAN EXPERIMENTS t HON. LEE MARTIN'S LETTER Noting the recent controversy in the BEACON the Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Lee Martin, has addressed the following article (in interview form) to Mr C. R. Taylor, Agricultural Department Inspector stationed at Whakatane. The success of a number of experiments conducted in America will be of great interest to local farmers. The letter reads: — "Experiments to determine whether or not the widely discussed practice of non-stripping on dairy farms is. justified in New Zealand are being conducted at the Animal "Research Station, Ruakura," stated the Minister of Agriculture, Hon. W. Lee Martin, in an interview today. He pointed out, however, that results could not be obtained quickly, and that it might well take several seasons before any conclusion could be reached. "There were three reasons generally offered to justify the practice of stripping," said the Minister. Non-stripping was alleged to —(1) Predispose to mastitis; (2) reduce the length of the lactation period; and (3) reduce the amount of milk or butterfat obtained in any particular season. Recent experimental woi-k in Ame rica had indicated that, in the condition operating there, non-strip-ping had no effect in predisposing towards mastitis or in reducing the length of the lactation period. There was, however, a small reduction in the amount of milk and butterfat produced when the cows were not stripped. Under American conditions, therefore, it would appear that the question of stripping or non-stripping was purely an economic one. In other words, did the increase in butterfat or milk pay for the cost of stripping? The American investigators were inclined, to think that it did, but stated that there was no justification for going to extreme lengths to obtain the last drop of milk. "It should be remembered, however," said the Minister, "that these conclusions were reached under American conditions. New Zealand conditions differed in some respects, and the experiments had therefore been undertaken at Ruakura to determine whether similar results would be obtained in this country.