HERD TESTING.

Otaki Mail, 3 October 1923, Page 4

HERD TESTING.

j SCHEME TO POPULARISE THE ' PRACTICE.

Acting on u resolution adopted at tile recent annual meuimg ot me suppneis, tlte Directors ui tuc nneltenntun Uany 0.0., nave inaugurated a new system ox testing; ui suppliers' LOWS.

Tiie new scheme is described us the Rata system, as it nas neeu in upeiulion at tries nana factory lor some time, it is sunpiy tins, mat Ute tesimg is carried out by tiie company without cost to the'iiiuividuai supplier. At present the testing is dune by an oflicer oi tiie Dairy Division 01 tiie Department 01 Agriculture, and tiie supplier is charged 'is per cow per .season tor those tested. This system has not been a success tor out oi iO.UOO cows supplying the factory only 13U0 are under test.

From now on, the testing win be done at the expense oi the company. Every supplying shareholder wul have his cows tested, tree oi charge to himself. This should result in a great, increase in the number oi cows under test.

Testing will have the effect of cutting out the boarders, increasing the flow of cream to tiie lactory, swelling the output, and thus doing good ait round. The Directors consider that tiie indirect gain to the company through the increased supplies, by the testing becoming more general, will more than compensate for the small expense incurred. Where tried, this new system has given far better results titan lias been the experience under the old system. The importance of testing is so obvious that it scarcely needs 10 be mentioned. Take the aspect of returns. Oyer and over again it has been proved that the casual glance test of a dairy cow is most unreliable. The former who adopts cream testing almost invariably finds that “that little cow which I thought was the best in the herd is a dud, after all.” Testing is working on a certainty. It must result in larger returns from the farm. Again, it is a. sure guide to the farmer in regard to the value of various kinds of feed for the stock. Here the lesson is so plain t'hot it only needs to be mentioned. Thirdly, ‘what could be more important to tiie dairy farmer, the factory, and the country than that only profitable stock should lie used in breeding?