Dairy Farming

Feilding Star, Volume XIV, Issue 129, 20 April 1893, Page 4

Dairy Farming

The following information will} we think, be of value to many of our country readers. It is culled from a paper read before a Southland Farmers' Club, and should be clipped out and kept for reference by those interested :— " Take a farm of 150 acres, which if fairly good land and well cultivated, will keep 50 first-class cows, worth £7 per head. If these cowa are properly fed, and in ever/ respect well cared for, they will certainly yield 600 gallons of milk each, which, at 3d per gallon, would give the owner £7 10s per cow. Assuming that it costs the owner Id per cow for each milking for eight months, this would be at the rate of £2 per cow for the season, leaving the owner £5 10s each, or, in round numbers £275 for the season. From this amount it ■will be necessary to deduct, say 10 per cent for deaths or something going wrong in their milk-vessels or otherwise — say £35 ; then add to that £30 lor interest, wear and tear of milk cart, horse, harness, and milk cans, and boys' time in driving milk to factory, bringing the amount down to £210. But if the farmer has sufficient milking power within himself, it will make a difference of £100 in bis favor. Having made allowance for cows drying and others going wrong in their vessels, I will now aßSume that there will be two fat cows for sale every year (out of those who go wrong in their vessels) worth, say, £4 10s each. This, you will perceive, will leave the farmer with £219 at the end of the season, or at the rate of £2 2s 6d per acre, with a large amount of valuable manure to boot. Now, let us see how sheep farming works out. Take a farm of the same eize and quality, and 250 firafc-class crossbred ewes (being at the rate of five sheep to one cow), which, if properly attended to, should give a re- j turn of 250 lambs, say, at 8s each, or | £100. Take the wool at 71bs per sheep, and worth B£d per lb, and you have £91 19s 7d ; total proceeds of lambs aud wool, £161 19s 7d. Deduct from this the usual expenses incidental to sheep farming, say £15, and allow £20 for rams and deaths, and the amount will be reduced to £120 19s 7d, or a trifle over 16s lid per aero. Another thing to be considered is that sheep come to maturity and old age much sooner than cows, and consequently they depreciate in value much sooner." We are indebted to the Napier News for the abovo. _____ __ __