Page 7 Advertisements Column 3

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 36, 22 December 1948, Page 7

it’s a Minster tio two' ways about it iff ■ 5 MS N 5 V , ... SBS it' s': t§! ' tf/h Distributed by The Strand WHAfCATANE Phone 13i

Hay & Silage saved this farmer £450 Here is clear proof fhaf file provision of adequate, good-quality hay and silage pays handsomely. This exantpte was recently quoted by the Technical Officer to the N.Z. Dairy Board's Herd Recording Department from material collected by the Board's Consulting Officers in the course of their work and contained in tlieir diaries. The owner of a highly-efficient dairying unit in the Waikato makes no secret of the gßT»jjgjj£?3 fact that one of his main concerns is the provision o& ample supplementary feed for his herd. There is no doubt that this policy is a worthwhile one, for, although it necessitates more work, often more and better'than average managerial ability during the spring and summer months, once the extra area has been safely harvested either as hay or silage, the seasons of possible and probable feed shortage can be faced with confidence. Food reserves on this farm at the beginning of May were estimated at I ton of hay plus 2£ tons of silage per cow—-and this was considered inadequate by the owner. The question may well be asked, "Do results on this farm justify a policy necessitating so much extra work and worry?" An examination of the production on this farm during the disastrous drought season of 1945-46 should provide ah answer. The tested herds in his area dropped in production by an average of 76ib. fat per cow when compared with the previous season. The fall in production on this farm amounted to only slb. per cow. The herd in that year comprised 64 cows, so at current prices the value of production, which could to a large extent be attributed to the saving of liberal amounts of hay and silage, amounted to approximately £450. There is no doubt that the extra butterfat could well be utilised by a hungy Europe. It is up to the individual farmer to decide whether this form of insurance against sub-normal, feed-growing conditions is preferable to such drastic measures as herd reduction and premature drying-off of the herd. BITTER FARM MANAGEMENT means more /r>, ISSUED BY THE AID FOR BRITAIN NATIONAL COUNCIL UTS**