SUPPLYING DAIRY STOCK.

Putaruru Press, Volume IV, Issue 115, 7 January 1926, Page 5

SUPPLYING DAIRY STOCK.

ORGANISED MARKETING. Successful in America. It is interesting to follow the methods that have been adopted in some parts of America to promote the supply of good dairy stock, and there is no good reason why similar methods should not be more generally availed of in New Zealand. An agent, finding that quite a number of calves from good producing stock were going to veal, "entered into an agreement with a number of herd-testing associations to organise the sale of all heifer calVes from cows entered in these associations whose records were 3001 b of butter-fat, or better, and had been bred to purebred bulls. Advertising brought requests for calves from many parts of the States, with the result that it was found possible to dispose of large numbers of calves at prices which were considered remunerative by their owners, and which were highly satisfactory from the point of view of the farmers who had to carry the • stock on to maturity. This idea was developed only three years ago, yet last year 500 calves were disposed of at highly satisfactory pri-ees. It is stated. that 2000 calves of this description could have been disposed of had they been available. The result of this action is that small herds of high-quality heifers are coming into milk in regions where it has been impossible to obtain this class of cow. There can be no doubt that the application of some similar system of disposing of the surplus heifer calves from parents of proved producing ability would be advantageous to dairymen whose herds are entered in the various tests, and at the same time it would provide opportunities for farmers to engage in dairying in conditions to ensure a reasonable margin of success. Few methods are more certain to bring about the complete decline in the demand for a class of heifer which has few claims of dairy type. For the present, the inferior producing catle that change ownership so frequently are a marketable commodity only because those anxious to make a commencement on the best and most reasonable lines are unaware as to the sources from which their requirements may be obtained.