FARM AND DAIRY

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 46, 16 October 1931, Page 5

FARM AND DAIRY

NOTES OF THE PRODUCER. GRADE COW'S BIG RECORD. Of the 226;000 cows tested under group herd test -throughout New Zealand last season the highest yield was that returned by a grade Jersey that produced 7241b fat in 324 days. This young cow, Lady, is the property of Mr. J. McSweeney, of Matamata, and she was tested by the New Zealand Co-operative Herd Testing Association. She put up her splehdid- record on grass alon'e With no supplementary f eed with the exeeption of a little hay and ensilage in -the early spring. Her performanee is all the more- ereditahle by virtue of the fact that she was running with a herd of 34 on a small farm of 50 acres that also earried 22 heifer calves, five yearling heifers and five horses. Mr. McSweeney, however, always keeps his posture in first-class order. He fcopdresses twice a year at the rate of 6cWt to the acre, using two parts of superphosphate to one of bone and one of guano. It was only by chance that the Dominion's champion producing grade cow of last season was xeared at all. The other calves had all been killed at birth, but she, being a very late arrival, was allowed to survive. The origiri of Lady, unfortunately, is shrouded in mystery, but _ from her appearance; there can he little doubt that there are some good pedigree Jersey bulls not far remote in her family tree: About nine years ago Mr. McSweeney bought a whole herd of cows from a dealer. A high grade Jersey that proved to be one of the very few good eows in the collection " did not come in until April. Al- # though all the other calves had been | killed, her calf, being out of season, | was allowed to survive. She quick- | ly grew into a bonny heifer, and the | congnomen of Lady was selected for J her. On her first calf she produced | 3401b fat in seven months and was | not tested until last season, when she | carried off the leadlng honours for f the World's largest herd testing as- | sociation. Incidentally, a four-year- | old daughter of Lady, tested as a | heifer, was the highest producer last | season in a neighbour's herd of 120 | head. | The Pigr Industry. = An endeavour is being ittade to get | the co-operative companies in ^ the | Auckland province to take an jj rest in the pig-marketing business, | especially in the matter of develop- | ing an export trade. The opinion -is | gaining ground that the business of | co-operative pig-marketing will never | be sucbessfully established till the | Danish and Americah system is adop- | ted — making the farmer sign up for a j period of years to confine his supply entirely to his co-operative assoeiatioii. Butterfat Prices. According to a recent number of "Butter-Fat," a dairying journal in Britisli Columbia, co-operative dairy companies in Western Canadian and Americah States were paying out from 24 ceilts to 25 cents a pound for butter-fat,- hnt in districts where there were no bo-operative factories the suppliers of the proprietary concerns were only gettiDg' 13 cents (6£d) for their butter-fat. In some cases the price was a little better; in some cases a little lower, but on the average — 13 cents. Semi-Official Testing. The latest Merit List for pedigree Jerseys under semi-oflicial test shows that the highest return of the month is that credited to the young Taranaki cow, Glenroy Poppy, the property of Mr. L. Hale, New Plymouth, which produced 72.321b fat. This young cow is particularly well bred, being by a son of Hawkesbury Blue Light, who in turn, is a son of the noted Majesty bull, Hawkesbury Nobleman. Another feature of the month's testing work is the excellent performanee of the Otago heifer, P. J. Hellyer's (Dunedin) Frisky's Favourite, who yielded 61.301b fat in the junior two-year-old class. For a heifer of tender age-— she was under two yearS old when she startecl her test — she is putting up a record for the hreed in the South Island. In 279 days she has given 559.6 lb fat, which should carry her well beyond the 7001b mark for the full twelve mdnths. Although in most "cases final- returns are not yet available the indications are that the season's testing work amongst pedgiree Jerseys will reveal a veritable host of outstanding performances. Those that have already been published are sufficient in themselves to indicate that the productive capacity of New Zealand Jerseys is being raised almost every year to an even higher standard.