HERD TESTING.

Shannon News, 28 September 1923, Page 3

HERD TESTING.

SCHEME TO POPULARISE THE PRACTICE. Acting on a resolution adopted at the recent annual meeting of the suppliers, the Directors of the Cheltenham Dairy Co., liave inaugurated a new- system of testing! of suppliers’ cows. '

The new scheme is described as the Rata system, as it has been in operation at .the Rata factory for some time. It is simply this, that the testing is carried out by the company without cost to the individual supplier.

At present the testing is done by an officer of the Dairy Division of the Department' of Agriculture, and the supplier is charged 2s per cow-per season for those tested. This system has not been a success for out of 20,000 cows supplying the factory only 1300 are under test.

From now on, the testing will he done at the expense of the company. Every supplying shareholder will have his cows tested, free of charge to himself. This' should result in' a great increase in the number of cows under test.

Testing will have the effect of cutting out the boarders, increasing the flow of cream to- the factory, swelling the output, and thus .doing good vail round. The Directors consider that the 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 than has been the experience under the old system. The importance of .testing is so* Obvious that it scarcely needs to be mentioned. Take the aspect of returns. Over and over again iti has been, proved that the casual glance test of a daily cow is most unreliable. The farmer 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, Agjain, 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 that it only needs to be mentioned. Thirdly, 'what could, be more, important, to the dairy farmer, the factory, and the country' than that only 'profitable stock should be used in breeding?