JERSEY BREEDERS' ASSOCIATION.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 June 1919, Page 7

JERSEY BREEDERS' ASSOCIATION.

ANNUAL MEETING. ' The annual meeting of tie Stratford branch of the Jersey Breeders' Association was held on Tuesday afternoon. Mr. Ranford, president, occupied the chair, and there was an attendance of about thirty members. Before proceeding with the business, the chairman said they had no doubt heard the .;ood news that the Germans had signed the peace terms. At his suggestion, the members all rose and sang the National Anthem.

The balance sheet showed receipts totalling £23 17s Od, including members' subscriptions £l3 17a 6d and subsidy £lO- After meeting all expenses a credit balance of £6 2s fld remained.

The president, in moving the adoption of the balance sheet, said he had to congratulate the branch upon its progress, and he was also pleased to address them under peace conditions. They were now entering upon an era of peace, prosperity, and plenty. It would take some time for things to adjust themselves, but he was sure their sacrifices had not been in vain. In dealing with the progress of the branch, he Baid they had now 65 members, three new members having been elected during the year. They held the record with regard Jo membership and also in live interest. At the recent annual conference the only remits on the order paper were submitted by the Stratford branch. One of these was withdrawn, two were passed without Amendment, and one was passed with a slight amendment. A suggestion had been' made that the association Bhould hold, in conjunction with the A and P. Associations, a New Zealand Jersey championship for male and female Jerseys. To boost the breed and make the competition strong, it was pointed out that it would be necessary to have substantial prize money. The idea had been taken up and a resolution was passed recommending the council to institute these championships. The recommendation had sinco been considered by the council at Palmerston, and it had been decided to award a'prize of £SO in each case, and the first competition would be held at Stratford. The only condition imposed upon the A. and P. Association receiving the championships was that it shall provide not less than £SO for the second and third prizes, and that there ehould be not less than 18 Jersey bulls and 30 Jersey cows over two years on the ground. He was sure thpt the Stratford A- and P. Society would get a big advertisement from the classes, as well as.the Jersey Breeders' Association- He suggested that members of' the branch, when donating prizes for competition at the show, should stipulate that they go to the championships. One of .the Stratford remits was that every bull having five daughters with records of 100 lbs of butter-fat above the amount necessary to qualify under the sjmi-official test ehould be given a gold medal. This was adjusted slightly by the council. At the annual meeting" the ' question of who should receive the medal-r-the breeder or importer or the owner—was keenly discussed. The annual meeting decided in favor of the breeder or importer.. The council felt that there was a diffiejilty in carrying' out the wishes of the arpual meeting, and to get over thia difficulty it was decided to have a class for tolls which were to be listed as champion butter-fat bulls. The remit recommending'a special class for cows t«Jt,-years old or over was, after a, very stflttig fight by himself backed by another member of the council, turned down. «With regard .to the last remit, proposed l)y MrLinnell, that no remit having been adopted by the annual meeting shall be rejected by the council without a satisfactory explanation being given to the various branches, the minutes now contained an instruction to the secretary which would ensure the information beins given. Reviewing the year's work, Jhe presiI dent, said that the attendance at the meetings had been very goocL' They had held a field day on Mr. J. S. Jones' form pn Opunake Road, which had been well attended by fanners and the boys from the rural school. In this way much could be done to advertise and popularise the breed. He had been travelling a good deal lately, and had heard many comments on the field day held here. He had seen Mr. H. B. Watson, of Taitapu, who had been very much taken with the Wea. The branch hoped next year, in* Stead of making it just an afternoon affair, to devote the whole day to it, the morning to be ÜBed in selecting Jersey heifers on points and the afternoon to selecting bulls. Mr. Watson had expressed his willingness .to come up and help. He had seen Mr. Singleton, the .Government dairy expert, who had promised to read a paper before the branch on semi-official testing. As soon as ;tbey knew when Mr. Singleton could come they would arrange for a special meeting. Others, including-"'Mr. Tapp (the conference secretary) had promised to help in the.same way.> The Jersey, as they knew, was growing in publio favor. There was a time when 30 or 40 guinefis'was: considered a big "price for a Jersey, but .the breed had advanced t|t,,was now recognised as the best for yjpurposeStf.and.it held the record for hjgh prices. ? At ijawera a Jersey had be%n!'«old for 340 guineas at auction, and hid'changed hands, later privately.afcan ffi jfeply president; 'Subsidy, of £10; they would in debt over £3. As it wa»*|^|| ,^dhave,: i after voting £l ° as j# !n lW i M<&ni,to $& secretary, M^^elchej;j,;ta|d''i:itli*t.> ! the finfthciat posjpra was'l&:;'aa|isfaeitory. H#tdid' nojgithmk Jj|iild ujga fund,.but spend'TO||. money oniuttejul |t ; §|The following; offlWr'sir jters tfftjeclj&s: Resident, .:s[r. Ranford;' W- Ijte'wW: cpmmitfe*,,Messrs,.O'SttjJi* and '■%#*.% resignation of the: ;aecretary r §W jsiceiyed with regret, and. sthe appoint!ffitat ofja.successor wag left in jff the executive. - , ':-' ■Messrs J. Bones and A. M. Haycock were electednew members..

The following conditions- were agreed to with regard to- the New Zealand Jersey Derby, and will be submitted to the A. and ?. Association for approval:(I) Heifers to be nominated within' one. month, front date of birth; (2) calves *to be inspected and branded by the .Association's representative in the ear ftfcthe timeof nomination; (3) the-mini-1 ■innm required for qualification for the semi-official record tie required to justify; (4) the competition BhalT be open to ail"! pedigree Jerseys calved between July 1, 1919, and January 30, 1920; <s> heifers to batexhibited and judged at .three years ohfon Jersey type at the Stratford 1 A. and' P. Association's 1922 show);: («)' ,t)ie feewshaHß«K Acoejjtanoe)s« ff on q.ualiffca-

tion 10s, and final payment 10s; (7) the usual blue ribbon shall be awarded to ,the winner; (8) that in the case of any Derby cattle being sold after nomination, all rights and privileges shall be transferred to the purchaser. Regarding the holding of the next field day, the, chairman suggested that they should select from those on offer at,the meeting the farm on which they should hold the day.

A proposal that they hold the day in the-A. and P. Show was condemned by the chairman on the ground that by doing thia they would miss one of themain .objects—the social element. Mr. Dagg (Kaponga) and Mr. O'Sullivan (Tariki) offered their farms, and it was decided to accept Mr. Dagg's offer. This concluded the business.

SMOKE CONCERT. The Stratford branch of the Jersey Breeders' Association held their annual smoke concert in Smith's Tea Rooms on Tuesday night. Mr. F. Ranford, president of the branch, occupied the chair, and there was a large attendance Local concert performers provided a good programme of songs, and Mr. Smi,th put on a supper which well sustained his good reputation as a caterer.

Mr. R. D. Dagg, in proposing "The Dairying Industry," said the industry was, as far as Taranaki was concerned, of first importance. Roughly, Taranaki produced one-third of the dairy produce exported from the Dominion, .though, with one exception, it was the smallest province. For the progress the industry had made he gave great credit to Mr. Singleton and other departmental officials. New Zealand, as a whole, exported in 1918 21,000 tons of butter and 52,500 tons of cheese, , valued at about £5,000,000. Some idea of the extent to Which Taranaki contributed ,to the total would be seen from the following returns from various factories: Ngaere £37,000, Cardiff £22,000, Lowgarth £26,000, Tuna £9OOO, Te Popo £2600, Tututawa £3400, Kaponga (two branches) nearly £IOO,OOO, and Stratford about £120,000. To appreciate ,the figures one had to remember the small area from which the produce was taken. The great progress made by the industry was responsible for the present high land values. The industry had a good future before it, and he. was sure would never look back.

Mr. Campbell Jackson, in responding, said the dairying industry had, to a great extent, won the war. In reviewing the early days of the industry, before the factories came into existence, he mentioned the -case of a man who, after churning his butter by hand, packed it in barrels, which were carried by horses for 15 miles and exported to London, receiving the magnificent price of (Ud per lb. When the fifst factory was established, near Auckland, some of the old dairymen thought it meant ruination, but they soon found how far mis* taken they were, and other factories quickly followed. When he came to Taranaki, 27 years ago, he visited a factory and thought it marvellous, but if the factory of those days was marvellous, what must be said of the factory of to-day? Mr. O'Sullivan had a Jersey to-day which was worth 20 or 30 of the average cow of the time ,to which he referred- This -ow had produced £IOO worth of butter-fat in one year. It was a cow which never Stopped milking. They had to give credit to hire and other Jersey breeders for making the dairying industry what it was. All honor to those who went in for pedigree stuff, but they must not despise the man who, fov want of capital or knowledge, contented himself with grade cows. The Jersey breeders would eventually lift this man to their own level.

The chairman proposed the toast "The Guest of the Evening," the departing secretary, Mr. Stanley. He had worked with Mr. Stanley for some time now, and knew his worth. Much of the credit due for the growth of the association and the good feeling existing must be given to Mr- Stanley, who would take with him the best wishes of the branch. On behalf of ,the branch, it gave him much pleasure to ask Mr. Stanley's acceptance of a fountain pen. Mr. Belcher endorsed all the chairman had said.

_ Mr. Huggett wished Mr. Stanley well in his new sphere of life. Mr. Campbell Jackson said he had seen a good deal of Mr- Stanley, who had a kind and generous nature, and was always willing to assist a neighbor or a, friend. What he did in this way he had always done without hope of reward. Mr. T. Runted spoke of Mr. Stanley's adherence to duty and his determination to pursue a right course in all circumstances.

Mr. Stanley, responding, said he had only done his duty, and he was pleased at the success of the association. He saw no reason why they should not get a secretary that would serve them quite as well as he had done. The association had good prospects, and should grow to a much bigger concern than it was at present- Concluding, he thanked them for tbeir gift. ™ D . ne '' 3h Proposing the toast of ine Visitors," asked why they should have visitors. Every farmer should be ft member, and to their town friends who could not get a farm he would say; Get a small section and run a cow on it, and let the cow be a Jersey. About four years ago they hod IS members. Now they had over 60. They were not all big men, and they wanted the small man if he only had one Jersey. Mv. Pinchy responded. jOthef toasts were: "The Ladies," "The Caterer," "The Visiting Performers" Songs were contributed by Messrs E. Linnell, A. D. Bills, P. Coe.H. A.. Smith, Aitken, and O'Sullivan.