DAIRY FARMING.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4566, 21 May 1923, Page 4

DAIRY FARMING.

NEW ZEALAND’S CHAMPION HERD. WORK OF PUREBRED SIRES. The extraordinary manner in which dairy farmers have availed themselves of f,he association herd-testing system during the past season has led to some striking results. In the Waikato, particularly, the system has been taken up with great enthusiasm, and. the year’s results are certain to further popularise this method of ascertaining the capacity of the members of the dairy herds for butter-fat production. One cow in the Cambridge district has been unearthed which in a period of 194' days has given 11,0301 b of milk and 627.31 b of butter-fat, a remarkable achievement. Although she had all the outward appearances of the great producer her owner set no particular value upon her until he entered his herd for test. Then he learned what a valuable animal he possessed. • This cow, it is interesting to note, shows every evidence of good breeding. SYSTEM CRITICISED. It. has been stated publicly, despite the great mass of evidence to the contrary, that the use of sires bred from purebred dams with high butter-fat records is more or less a snare and a delusion. These big records, it was emphasised, were secured by what are termed forcing methods. The ordinary daily farmer who anticipated that he could considerably raise the productivity of his herd within a short period by the use of sires bred from these phenomenal producers would, too, receive early enlightenmen. Destructive, criticism of tjiis nature leads to nowhere. , . SEMI-OFFICIAL TESTING. Semi-pfficial testing was introduced primarily that official recognition might be conferred upon the ability of the purebred dairy cow as a butterfat producer. Through t.his system the best strains in the respective breeds have been brought into evidence. The test is one of capacity, for it has long been recognised that ■the most valuable dairy cow is almost invariably t,he one with the greatest bodily development. That, is the reason why so much emphasis is placed upon size by all dairy cattle breeders and judges. The heaviest producer is invariably the cow which returns to her owner the largest nett profit. The ability of purebred cows possessed of great,. capacity for production to hand on this trait through their sons to the next and future generations has raised their value to an exceptional level. A GREAT EXAMPLE. Many concrete examples' of this ability to improve existing herds are now. being made, available through the work accomplished by herd->test-ihg associations. In small 'dairy herds a very high standard of production is obtainable with more ease than is possible in a herd, say, of .100 animals, Therefore, now that a herd of 100 head has been tested in the Waikato, evidence of real value is at hand. This herd of 100 grade Friesian cattle up to t,he end of March had averaged 90701 b of milk and 3371 b of butter-fat. But for the fact that the owner has . decided to disperse the herd entirely, as he has decided to take up the breeding of purebreds, it. would easily have averaged 4001 b of butter-fat for the full season, which would at the present time return the owner a minimum income cf £3OOO from the 100 head. This particular herd is owned by Mr W, R. Wright, of Matangi, a very experienced dairyman. Matangi is not by any m n ans heavy land; in fact, it is on the light side, and therefore Mr Wright’s herd has not had any advantage in this respect. Despite this handicap it is easily leading for average production over all herds tested in the Waikato, whether large or small, and irrespective of breed. Un-

donbtedly it is the best herd in New Zealand tp-day. The best cow has given 15,9051 b of milk and 693.51 b of butter-fat in 280 days, a truly remarkable performance, especially considering that she did not receive an ounce of artificial feed, being treated just as an ordinary member of the herd, the only supplementary feed provided being a small ration of mangolds in the early spring and a run with the herd on a patch of millet for an hour each evening during January and February. Iwo othei members of the herd have given over 1001 b of butter-fat in one month, one cov' gave 1081 b in 30 days, and another 1021 b of fat in the same period. This was for the month of November, during which month the herd was en-

tiroly pastured on grass only. Moreover, it was machine milked. The figures were so high that a check test was made by a special officer of the N.Z. Co-operative Dairy Company, and the figures obtained by this officer were a little in advance of the association’s testing figures. The production figures of this herd are, therefore, above criticism. Up to the end of March the best 18 cows averaged 506.861 b of butter-fat. How was it done ? All is t,he result oi making consistent use of the purebred sire. Mr Wright has banked on the black and white Friesian breed, as he states that this breed has not only a great capacity, but a wonderful prepotency of inheritance for production.