BUTTER-FAT EXPERIMENTS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 980, 24 May 1930, Page 29

BUTTER-FAT EXPERIMENTS

INCREASED BY FEED? The question "Can the percentage of butter-fat in a cow’s milk be increased by feed” is frequently discussed. Here and there men will be found who believe that certain combinations of grain will do this, but exhaustive experiments in the United States of America have proved the contrary to be the case. Results so far obtained indicate

that feed does have a slight effect upon the fat quality of milk, but those ill charge of the investigations will not make any definite statement, as the work has not proceeded far enough to eliminate all other factors that cause milk to vary in fat. The percentage of butter-fat in milk is very largely controlled by breeding, and the only known way permanently to increase it is by mating high-testing animals. If a certain combination of feed would increase the percentage of fat and keep it there throughout a cow's lactation period, and another food ration would decrease the fat, it could then be assumed that fat could be fed into milk. There is, however, nothing to prove that this can be done, .consequently we must come to the conclusion that it is impossible. There have been cows in Australia that would have: yielded I,ooolb of butter-fat and upward in nine months if their owners could have increased their milk test by feeding. If milk testing 5 per cent, fat is desired it must come from animals that through inheritance produced 5 per cent. milk. In short, there is no system of feeding known up to now that will make a 3 per cent, cow test 5 per cent. If it should ever happen that one is 'discovered dairying will be a much more profitable undertaking.