BETTER DAIRYING

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 423, 6 January 1933, Page 6

BETTER DAIRYING

QUEEMSLAND SCHEME FIVE YEAR PLAN FOR ORGANISATION OF HERD TESTiNG APPROVAL OF CONFERENCE A five-year plan to introduce herdtesting, to minimisa the incidence of disease in the dairy herds of Queensland, and gradually to eliminate the use of serub bulls, so as to obtain a higher efficiency, was outlined by the Minister of Agriculture and Stock (Mr F. W. Bulcock) at a conference of Queensland farmers recently. ' The conference unanimously approved of the scheme. The Minister said a board of three, composed of tv/o representatives of the industry and the chief dairy ingpector (Mr. A. McGrath), would control the scheme, and he estimated that the annual departmental contribution would be £10,000. Fees would be received from the registration of bulls, and the dairy factories had also agreed to support the scheme. The matter which he" particularly desired to place before the conference was that of increasing production with the same volume of expenditure. ITad everything been done that was possible in relation to the dairying industry? There were several questions associated with the problem, tbe first of which was the testing of herds from the production standpoint. Herd-Testing Paramount Next there was the necessity of a survey of herds from a health viewpoint, with which was associated the economic loss to the industry. Then came the question of the marketing of the product, the result of the corrcet application of the first two proposals. There was sufficient information today to convince him and any unbiased individual that herd-testingv was the paramount neecl for the industry. The next point was the question of the bull, and he was certain that, with a proper system of selection and the juse of a proper type, there would be a very appreeiable increase in the productivity of tbe herds of the State. This led them to the second phase cf the problem, and that was the economic loss associated with the incidence of disease. They all lcnew the ravages of tuberculosis, and there was no doubt it was talcing a tremendous toll from an efficiency point of view. They could eliminate diseased animals progressively over a period of years, and at the same time cease breeding from the diseased animals. They could also deal with the rapid spread of cther diseases. Contribution of Govcrnment It *was estimated that the departmental contribution would be £10,C90 a year. He believed they would vet the wholehearted support of the dairy factories, and might possibly have to subsidise some of the smaller factories. Those factories would assist in the scheme by making tests. It was necessary, he thought, that there should be two veterinary surgeons appointed whose duty would be io service the dairying industry under ihe scheme outlined. The majority of ihe dairy factories werd prepared to make a contribution. There was a necessity for the registration of every hull in the State, and for that there -■•ould .be a fee of not more than That would mean that in the first • ear every bull would be registered, •and in the second year it would mean ihe elimination of certain bulls and ihe replacement ot those bulls from fund. Thus each year there would he a definite improvement in the herd ! ull>, and he wanted to make the "heme a comprehensive one that after a few years' operation they would he in such a position as to stand the possible shock of the loss of the artificial aid of the Paterson scheme, and also the high rate of exchange.