"TEST YOUR COWS."

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 61, 30 July 1912, Page 7

"TEST YOUR COWS."

A PLEA FOR BETTER METHODS ON THE FARM. (From our Stratford Reporter.) "Teist your cows!" This was practically the burden of the address given yesterday to the shareholders of the Stratford Farmers' Co-operative Assofciation at the annual meeting by Mr. R. Dingle, chairman of directors. He was urging the absolute necessity for increasing the production of butter-fat per cow if they were to make all that should be made out of the dairying industry. He said the matter had been gone into very closely., and it was found that the standard of production was far too low. The 1 approximate figures for the cows milked for this company he characterised as "astonishingly small —too small." If they were going to make dairying a [ success, there was not the slightest doubt that they must test and weigh the produce of every cow in the herdSj find out what each cow was doing, and generally improve their methods of dairying. Many of their holdings were far too large to allow of the land being farmed as it ghoul d be farmed. Under the present circumstances they were not getting from the land all they should get. It was necessary, if they were to get the best production of butter-fat, that they must have smaller areas and attend to the cows better. They must make provision for their cows in the spring of the year, and in the winter, too. He could not too strongly impress oil them the necessity for herd-testing. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Dingle read an ex-

I tract from the annual report of the I Thames Valley Dairy Co., quoting the J success of the herd-testing amongst the j shareholders, and the light cost (under 12s per cow for over 2000 tows), j He understood that one Taranaki com- | pany intended to undertake the work of I testing shareholders' herds. I The average production of butter-fat j per cow over the herds supplying this j company was just under 17<Jlbs—to be correct, 10!).761b5. If they could raise \ that by 301bs per cow, making the averj age 2001b5., it would mean an increase of £IB,OOO to the company in a year's j operations. And 2001bs. per cow wasn't anything near what they would be doing eventually, and it wasn't a high average even with the farms in their present state. For his own part, he would not keep a cow that did not give 2001bs. of butter-fat a year. Someone: What becomes of the culls?

Mr. Dingle: I don't sell them as dairy cows, but to dealers. They may eventually be sold again to dairymen, at a good profit to the dealer. But testing wasn't everything. The}' had to manage their farms better, and handle the cows better. "You don't want to be dogging them," he said, "if you expect them to produce butter-fat. For they won't do it; and that's all about it." He continued: "Instead of being afraid to test, test them. It ,will pay you better to run store eows, or a few sheep, than to keep a cow that gives under 2001b5." This was not an experiment now. Dairying had become a business, and should be run on business lines.

I At a later stage, the sjyjrman said that the Department k&l instituted testing of cows in this dist'rM, but were j ? ow going to allow the farmers to carry it on themselves. Ho thought they . should form a herd-testing association with a view of finding out the "wasters" and throwing them out. They could talk what they liked, but he was experienced in the business, and he could < not tell his best producing cows except |by testing and weighing their milk, j They wanted the cow which would "ive ' them the most butter-fat during the season. It was a question to be decided ' whether the shareholders would pay the J enoimous sum of two shillings per cow per season, with a view of enabling them to eliminate the unprofitable cows. No business man "would continue to handle a line which caused him a loss, and it was time for the farmer to run butterfat producing on business lines. Mr. Webb urged every shareholder to take up cow-testing. Some discussion took place with a view j preventing "culls" from being sold as dairy cows, Mr. Mai'fell savin"' that this was indispensable if cow-testing was to become generally adopted. Mr. Sangster advanced the view that culled bulls should be made into steers, and culled cows speyed. That would settle the question of disposing of them as dairy cattle. He moved that the committee should take up cow-testin"' as part and parcel of the business. Then every shareholder would pay for testing, and those who neglected their opportunity would have to pay for the service just as if they were using it. Mr. Marfell said the' farmers could have their cows tested at a nominal cost. Testing hig herd had cost fourpence per eow apart from the box and bottles, which cost him 30s. He reckoned his

ammu-raters, Dut their average was 20(J]bs. of butter-fat. He had culled out cattle this year that he would never have dreamed of putting out without testing. They were heavy producers of milk, hut, not of fat; so they lfrul t° go. The chairman referred to the valuable paper read at Palmerston North by Mr. James Burgess, of Warea, recently, in which he showed that by testing" and , weighing, and better farming, he had greatly raised the standard of butterfat pioduction on his farm. Testing and weighing was not everything. A herd averaging 3001bs. with* one man, who handled them well, would perhaps average only 2Oolbs. as handled by another farmer. "Testing isn't everything, and t don't you forget it/ You've got to eare for the cows. too. . . Oct your cows up to 2.)01h5., and then you* won't be satisfied." A shareholder: Fecdincr is half the breeding. Ihe chairman: Yes, but it's no use feed inn; a scrubber.

Checking an irregular discussion, the chairman said ho had not brought up the matter with a view of deciding how it should lip done, but with a view of impressing on shareholders the necessity for haying their cows tested. Thee H'ere any amount of facilities for luuing fcno work floiip. Thorp was a tester ai the main factory, and he (Mr McKenzie) would aitend to any requests from snarelio]ilors.

Nothing definite was done, but it is likely flint cow-testing will become more general this vear.