IMPROVING PRODUCTION.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 June 1921, Page 4

IMPROVING PRODUCTION.

There is no portion of the able address delivered by the chairman of the National Dairy Association (Mr. A. Morton), at the recent annual meeting, which deserves closer attention than his reference to the need on the part of the farmers for endeavoring to improve their individual production, a course rendered necessary by lower prices, especially of the by-products. In urging dairy farmers to make greater use of fertilisers, employ the best methods of farming, and, above all, testing the yield of all their cows so as to eliminate those giving unsatisfactory results, Mr. Morton gave advice that all dairymen should take to heart and do their best to carry out. Experience has proved conclusively that herd-testing and culling the poorer cows pays the more the-

rough the operation the better being the results. So well is thia fact recognised that it seems hard to understand why the practice is not universal. Possibly some farmers may have found it difficult to finance thia paying proposition, but it is to be feared that action in the right direction was more a matter of will than money. Never have dairymen had such an exceptional opportunity of building up their herds with the class of cow to give the best butterfat yield as in the last few years. Those who have done so have reaped a good reward for their enterprise, while those who went on in the old groove should no longer hesitate to follow a good example. If dairy farmers expect to obtain the highest price on the market for their produce they must take the necessary steps to achieve their aim, by having the best types of cows, devoting unceasing vigilance to secure scrupulous cleanliness in the yards, sheds and utensils, provide adequate feed and shelter, and make it a point of honor to give the factories a fair chance of making the best butter and cheese possible. Competition on the Home market bids fair to be very keen, but the dairymen of the Dominion need have no fear of that if they concentrate on the best methods. They can face the future with confidence, and with a determination to produce more and of a higher grade than in the past. Judicious advertising (which has never been gone in for by the New Zealand producers, to their material disadvantage) and a proper system of marketing will help considerably. It is for them to do their best for themselves, and make the Dominion’s produce attractive to the consumers.