The Dairy Industry.

Feilding Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 74, 24 September 1896, Page 3

The Dairy Industry.

Mr Herman Olsen, who is at present in New Zealand, gave to a N.Z.Timesrepreaentatire some information of great interest to dairy farmers concerning tbe nethods adopted by Denmark, New Z xland's greab vixu> in the London XL i'ket. 11 In Denmark and &«reden," said Mr Ciscn," the nv-uoiN sr.- hyatematie. Every care is taken to sot herds of good milking strains, and for this purpose we find that the best stock is a combination of three quarter Ayrshire and one-quarter 8h irthorn. Thi? •'«>m > . inntinn t-ivee all th-.t is wanted T-t •..«h.r«- itself is to small, and that <it ?rt is made up by tho slight shorthorn »tram introduced. Then the dairj experts under the control of the Government have to be acquainted with the breeding and care of cattle, and they mu9t yisit not only tho factories, but also the farms, and tell the farmers h >w to feed their cows, bow to treat them, what brwding <tra ns to seiect. Borne years ago I smarted ; a Sweden wh>;t are called bull associations These associations were formed amongst the small farmers, the Government subsidised each association by giving it money to buy a first-class bull, then the associations repaid the actual cost of the bull, and the Government paid freight and all the expanses. Then the besi. cows were branded, and only coirs having this special brand were allowed to be used for breeding purposes. In this way an immense improvement has taken place in the small farmers' herds. " These associations were established to help the small farmers only, bat the large farmers have Started associations in a similar way, but on a much larger scale of course, and thene associations also receive a Government subsidy So that the improvement of the herds is manife- 1 all through the country. "Here ia the colonies," Mr Olsen continued, " a man keeps perhaps 60 cows of a mixed class, and the average yield of milk is, say. 300 or 4"O gallons. But if he kept only the very best cows, tbe quantity of nulk would increase to nearly double, Here is another thing : the time must come — and this has be" come a most pressing question— the time must come when the farmers will have to shelter their cows in winter time, and to provide food for them in a mors sys tematie manner by making ensilage and hay. It docs uo* pay to do ihis, some farmers will tell you. But it does pay. If you just think, you will see that in the wmier time for about four mon'hs you have very cold weather; then the cows are without shelter, and get very poor, and when tbe summer comes it takes a couple of months before they c*a recover, and lor that time you are lo« ng a great deal of the milk you ought to get from the cows, and would get if the? were in proper cond tion "