DAIRY OUTLOOK.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 April 1921, Page 5

DAIRY OUTLOOK.

PROSPECTS DISCUSSED. QUALITY WELL MAINTAINED. BUTTER-FAT FALLING OFF EARLIER. (By Telegraph—Special to News-) Wellington, Last Night. “The quality of our dairy produce has been well maintained this season as compared with preceding seasons, remarked an officer of the Agricultural Department to-day, “although it is well recognised that there is yet considerable room for improvement in a number of brands, both of butter cheese coming forward for grading.” He added that at the beginning of the season a number of farm and dairy instructors were appointed by the department in co-operation with a number of dairy factories in an arrangement by which <a dairy company paid the major portion of an official s salary, and the. work of these farm and dairy instructors had proved a very potent factor in improving the quality of the milk and cream supplied by companies with whom they were working. The autumn season throughout ths Dominion has, owing to the prevalence of drier weather than was experienced during the year previous, shown an earlier falling’off in the quantity of but-ter-fat produced than was the ease during the preceding season. In mentioning this fact to a reporter to-day, an officer of the Dairy Division of the Agricultural Department stated that this condition would apply to the majority of districts. There were exceptions, however, such as the North of Auckland. In the latter districts the rainfall seemed to have been more copious, and the pastures had maintained a good condition for a longer period than was the case generally. Conditions during the early summer were, he .id tad; favorable to a better growth of grass than usual, and as a result of this, together with the prevalence qf favorable weather during the haymaking time, more hay had -been saved for the winter feed of dairy cows than was usually the case. This should have a stimulating effect on the winter production of butter-fat, and should also mean that the dairy cattle might be reasonably expected to come into profit next spring in a better average condition than was usually the case.

on root crops, our inform-, ant stated that these were fairly generally grown to supplement hay a& a winter food for dairy cattle. The hot, dry weather which had been experienced* during February and March, however, had not been favorable to good crops. In many districts swedes had been affected with the aphi% and to such an extent that the feeding value of the crop would not be up to expectations. Incidentally, it, was interesting to note that in some cases dairy farmers had fed off their root crops, which would under normal circumstances have been retained for winter feeding. This, to some extent, was due to the farmers’ anxiety to produce as. much butter-fat as possible before March 31, the date on which the butter contract with the Imperial Government expired. As a lower return was expected by the dairy farmers -after this date, the reason for the earlier feeding of the roots was obvious.