OUR BEEP PRODUCTION

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2376, 4 February 1915, Page 8

OUR BEEP PRODUCTION

EARET MATURITY

IADVICE.OF A. FARMER

■ v'One of , tho effects-of the drought this jw summer in certain districts has been the fjV'imshing into the freezing works of stock i':. , ;;-which would not under.normal condi-Kj-.'rtions have been slaughtered. This ap-' i'vpliesv especially; to small lambs and fondling cattle, and the effects have been.; Mvi intensified by the high prices offering pyat-Honie for. all classes of-meat. , (Vir This subject, combined with that of |j,: ieef-raising generally, was discussed in !*' -:an (interview yesterday by Mr. John j'.i ;.AJleh, a retired farmer from tHo Auckland district, who. has devoted some at|;|s£erition.to the subject. His idea gener-, fcftllyus. that -fanners would increase their K' ; :'output if 'they, raised cattlo to. mature j:.'f'early,' selling the animals fat at 2$ ;':years old instead of from 3£ to dyears •;;'v-oki.K,:'.'All.tho energies of.our farmers ( !; vfp'r the last few. years have been devoted' i;':to the.production .of butter, and' the rais • I'-1 ing. oFcattlo stablefor:butterp'roduc■■/j/tionv',' Nothing' has been done to edu- !:; tcateinthe' grazier; in .beef production.. T.. dairy: farmer for many years, be-, i-jifofo'ihe dairying industry was as profit--' p'.able;as it is now, but in my late years S/; as a farmer I turned my attention solely My experience taught iiieai'great'mairy.things that tho ; general j'.-Xrutt.Vpf : farmers ';do ..not' seem to have|.''/ijearned yet. -I was not long in leafn-fij'ingvthat^a.three-year-old fat steer.is a i:.'iw)st'expSiisive,and ; ■unsatisfactory beast fft'.to'hqld. ?Such anT.'aniinal will not fe-I'itainihis:fat-raid' grow on pastures where yearling.would- 'When I was f.;iin-tli.e.''Ohiffid"State r s and Canada some L : vyear's; ago'l yisited..several'Government | p.experimental farms. , --' They showed us ijl-eever'al which,they weighed every p/\iee% keeping 'an accuraterecord of the pweight of all food supplied to them. The Y Jesuit they'gavfS me" was that excluding' I'.liheibirth. :weigbts;.tbe;steer'maintains a I ■■practically uniform' rate of gain nintil jV-Jie is;-two .years old, but.that the cost ; N»pfi producing the ; gain 'in. the nest year— ■ from;itwo-years old to three years old— L;Jis" about;.'do'uible'.the.,cost.of. producing', ; .of .gain of the.first two , jv:y6arsV-'So : aiso they assnredme that the I J ccst(of -'producing. the extra weight in s!'-the.. : fourth'.year, of. life is; about /three i lftimes*tne cost;,for...the first.two.yeaxs. [:.'%:,"This ovidehce and my own experience satisfaction'.at' any rate, I jithaf'itho'.loss,;sustained;-by^^ r New .2ieapjilandS'graziera in keeping; steers, -.until. \r f*heyvare;three,-iour,-.and five, years old. i»"is: incaiculablel ' Theyi'find- the-raising. \ : j'of beef 'byi their own methods profitable s;ienough, and-they.-rest'at'that.,; They do :,iliot take intp.-considerationVthe; fact that [■ i-theyi'cbuld sellVdouble ;'the' ; numher' of [-'*attlo;':dff' therßairie;.;feed.if.'they. sold j:i±hein-'youiiger. ; ;'Xi , f ';(:'-;; : : ':. : "l ■.■-:."."'.'

1 ''It-is a; certaintyi' , said;-Mr.'■. Alien, ; f./'that; prices-will/.n0t.g0.-down,;.and Istrongly,;of opinion-that'ourigraziera ijs]iduld:try,to,produce beef at the earliest troossible : niatuTity.- Tb'dq so tho owners s:|ofesecond.and third-class land; who now ffAuy ..calves and:,yearlings in store con-. fyditicm, and graze them until they are Rithree : br 'fonr years old, would make ; more money by breeding fat calves... Exjlpehsive breeding cows are not necessary, Jfimt cows .should . be' selected with, a IBstfpng fusion ,of Shorthorn blood, prejfeferably large and roomy, aad with a ten|]denoy.to beefy conformation.'" The bull f.;should:be a good Shorthorn.' Growth is ~ /.the .desideratum, and if the'calf jlis'.kept in fair growing condition, the tjturnip grower.';and.first-class ,; grazier, ikjould purchase them when- from six to I aiine months old, at,- say, £3 each, and ffjthen/ retaining all the milk fat on-them, [turnout top quality beef.at.2£ years old. I'l always, preferred selling my steers at ffijezTS old, and so'avoiding the third printer,' during which season. it' ivas alSways so much harder to keep condition ppn;them than on the eighteen-inonths-' ;M)ld7steera. ; '.. ''.'.. - .- ;':' "In Canada the favourite cattle for ifearly beef. production are_ the Scotch iShorthorns, and I think tho Governiment here would bo well advised to in'iitioduce some good bulls of this breed, jicr... to .help; private importers ■ by. quaran?d,ining" such animals free. In t Canada Shey.say that these cattle mature a yeai pearlier-'than, air other breeds, and they iimate even their stud herd heifers at 18 [an'onths old.' A"t this age it is found f the'mothers develop into good milkers, (rearing well-nourished calves. -The gain iito "the, farmer in selling off his cattle (■early is startling -when.' reduced -to [figures. Suppose a farmer has grazing kiand other feed'for'Bo steers, which ho ieells at, say, four years old, an average i.sof;. 2O.iper year;": If he kept younger jicattle. to sell at two years, or 1\ years sold he could keep, sayi.-'.lfiO.or. 160, and isell; an average- of from 60' to 80 per [year. It may-be quite true*that he gets [more for a four-year-old than for the Sbest two-year-old he can grow,'but he jwill not get enough more- to recoup him [for. the cost of keeping the older beast jlfor''the extra'two, years: .Besides this ■ ( the young beef is more ready of sale, (the 'demand nowadays being'for tender 3)'cef rather. than for weight and. size. H am sure that graziers could double our fbeef production, and double their own jirbfits, if they...wotild adopt my plan of young .cattle wellj-neyer,let-ting them fall-into poor condition, and 'celling them fat'afctvro years old.".