NEW ZEALAND CATTLE.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVI, Issue 4798, 12 January 1925, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND CATTLE.

PROGRESS OF PEDIGREE STOCK. ~~ I . '-1 BRIGHT PROSPECTS' FOR FUTURE. ; According to the latest issue of the. ; N.Z. Official Year Book most of the leading breeds of the cattle of Great Britain are represented in the Dominion by herds bred on sound lines, though the development of the beef breeds of later years has received a check owing to the advance taking place in dairying operations. There are still very fine Shorthorn herds of ; beef type, while Hereford and Aber-deen-Angus cattle are also largely bred. There are herd-books for each of these breeds. The breeding of dairy cattle has made great progress in recent years. Herd-book societies ar? now established for the Jersey, Friesian, Ayrshire, Milking Shorthorn, and Red Poll breeds. The various societies have heartily co-operated in a scheme for establishing registers of merit in con- . nection with the certifica‘.e-of-record testing of purebred dairy cattle, thus giving a great fillip to the breeding of purebred dairy stock. The dairy farmer is encouraged to use purebred bill's, and thereby assist materially % in raising the standard of the dairy 7 stock of the country. He is now com- ; ing to appreciate the value of herdtesting work, and thus, knowing the really profitable cows ’in his herd, | will be anxious to secure a bull which will enable them to perpetuate tneir_ good qualities. An important factor responsible for .the improved position of dairy cattle : in New Zealand is the milking ma- 2 chine, which- is making the farmer more independent of hired labour, j With the higher price of land there ’ is a gradual tendency towards smaller farms and, the keeping of fewer but s better cows. Also, there is a growing realisation of the necessity for a more liberal system of feeding, particularly ■ in the direction of growing special fodder crops to maintain the miHc flow at all seasons of the year. Generally, dairy farming in New Zealand is being conducted on a scund basis, and the industry now ranks fully with : meat and wool production in import- \ ance. , A policy which has been partly re-' sponsible for placing the breeding of : dairy cattle on up-to-date principles has been the establishment of purebred herds at three of the State ex- ; perimental farms, where they are breeding according to an exact record of performance. High-priced stock have been imported in order that the foundation herds at the farms may be of the best quality. The yearling bulls from these State milk record herds command high valite. The appreciation of the farming community for this officially tested stock has ' been chiefly responsible for the gratifying manner in which private breeders of pedigree.stock have participated in the certificafe-of-record testing system of the • Department of Agriculture and the herd-book societies. With regard to the testing of dairy, farmers’ herds, the department in the season of 1910-11 established a model herd-testing association in the Wairalapa district, carrying out the work : of testing and recording results free ■ of all charge to the farmers' taking part. This had the effect cf creating at once wide interest in the important herd-testing movement, and tne following season model associationswere established in several leading . dairying districts. This was intend- . ed not ojnly to demonstrate the valueof herd-testing when properly conducted. and with full comparative records published at the end of the season, but also to encourage farmer-s to es- ; tablisb co-operative testing associations on their own account. The object was achieved, and many associations are now in operation. The lai ger number of these are supervis-'-ed by the Department of Agriculture. rhe total number of cattle in the ■ Dominion at the enumeration of 1924 was 3,563,497, as against 3,480,694’ in ' 1923. The figures for the two years, < according to the classification in use,.> are as follows : Stud bulls, two years , old and over, for beef purposes, 13,-' 674 in 1923, 12,136 in 1924 ; for dairy purposes, 45,574, and 46,798 ; cows and / heifers, two years old and over, for ■ dairying, in’milk, 1,106,936 and. 1,167,914 ; dry, 120,660 and 124,372; COWS and heifers, two years old .and over,. other than for dairying, 468,380 and ■ 487,651 ; heifers, one and under two is years old, 403,326 and 438,£84 ; steers, / two years old- and over, 503,303 arid 433,575; steers, one and under two • years old, 187.537 and 189,569 ; calves (heifer and steer), under one year;, old, 596,886 and 630,130 ; cattle in boroughs, 34,418 and 33,268. Out of a total of 3,563,497 cattle the North Island had 2,852,687, or 80.05 per cent,, while the South Island had 710,810, or 19.95 per cent.