LITTLE TESTING DONE.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 July 1922, Page 12

LITTLE TESTING DONE.

It is not that there are no purebred herds of good milking strains. In New South Wales there are 22,000 purebred dairy cows and heifers entered 'in the herd books. But of this large number only 700 are under test at the present I time for milk and butter-fat producI tion, the total number tested during I the past five years being about 2.500, a I surprisingly small proportion of the whole.

Some of the herds have done and are doing very well, and by the courtesy of the Hon. G. H. Varley, M.L.C., late of the Clarence River district and now resident in Sydney, . I was able to obtain particulars of the results obtained from some of these herds. On the Bodalla estate there are 14 herds, the best of which, comprising Friesian grade, produced 253 lbs. in 1921, the whole averaging 201 lbs. for an average lactation period of 271 days. The poorest herd, it may be mentioned, was of Frieeian-Jersey grade, averaging 1671b5. At Is per gallon of milk for cheese-making, the Friesian herd produced £35 per cow and the lowest, the Friesian-Jersey grade, £2O 12s. The manager of the estate (Mr. Hutchinson) is a careful and thorough farmer. He attributes the success of his operations to three things—the quality of the land, the water, and the’ personality of the milkers. The latter he regards as the main thing, because, as he puts it, if the cows are not milked properly, they will not show the return. On the Darbalara estate, Gundagai, splendid results are being obtained from pure-bred Shorthorn. herds as the result of testing. There are 11 farms, and the average yield per cow for the past year was 2911bs of commercial butter, and the financial return £37 14s per animal. The best, herd of 42 cows averaged 4241bs of butter, valued at £54 ss, and tha worst" 23libs valued at £3O 3s. ' . Mr. Eric D. L. Jones, of Bundanoon, goes in for the Friesian and has achieved considerable success. Most of his foundation cattle came from New Zea-

land, being of the Netherland Princess strain. Some of his cows have great records. at least for Australia. Woodcrest Johanna Tehee produced 21,4831bs of milk last year, the butter-fat content being 7571b5, and Monavale Rita Paxton 16,71 libs and 5901bs lyJERSEY RETURNS. Sir Samuel Hordern conducts a Jersey stud farm at Bowral, and the figures of the production of some of his animals are interesting. Under Government test Ledas Snowdrop produced 6351bs of butter fat in 273 days, and the following year 7961bs in 365 days; Pearl 3291bs in 214 days, and 5221bs in 273 days; May Panora 43libs' in 273 days; and Kenta 4211bs in 273 days. The herd was established in 1910, and the foundation bull was Matilda Noble, by Noble of Oaklands, being imported from the Island of Jersey. Mr. Anthony Horden also has a farm at Bowral, but his fancy runs in the direction of the Guernsey. The records of his best animals . are:—ltehen Polly, 7261bs for 47| weeks -. Milton’s Dorah, 5121b5, 273 days; Dorah, 3491b5. 273 days; Hayes Lily du Preel 3821b5, 273 days. Many of the foundation stock in each of the stud herds referred to above have records of over lOOOlbs of commercial butter;/ which shows the range ! of improvement open to the owners of [dairy cattle in the ' State. Few. dairy [countries have, as a matter of fact, so [ low an average yield per dairy cow as New South Wales. This is recognised by the Government, which appointed a commission to enquire into and report upon the conditions and prospects of this and allied industries. The report has been presented to Parliament, and now that its chairman (Sir Joseph Carruthers) is a member of the Cabinet it is expected an effort will be made to give effect to the Commission’s recommendations for the improvement of dairying in the State.

TARANAKI’S GREAT OPPORTUNITIES.

The conclusion is forced upon one that we.in New Zealand are, generally speaking; considerably ahead of N.S.W. and Victoria in regard to the dairy industry, yet we are by no means fully realising our opportunities, being far behind countries like Denmark, where climatic and other conditions are not nearly so favorable as they are here. Indeed, it can be justifiably claimed that no country in the world is so naturally adapted for dairying as the greater part of the North Island of New Zealand, and further that no part of the Dominion is so favorably situated in this connection as Taranaki. We have not the salubrious climate and the amount of sunshine as, say N.S.W., but wo have the natural soil fertility, abundant running streams, regular rainfall, and an equable temperature —ideal conditions for dairying. Great as is itss. production at present — double that of the average for the whole of the Dominion—Taranaki at present is not doing one half of what it is capable: indeed, taking the undeveloped back country into consideration, not one third.

The average Taranaki dairyman would starve, if he attempted dairying in Australia—the conditions are so different, and the soil so poor. Not that our dairymen are not industrious. Tn point of fact most of them are very hardworking.. The trouble, however, is that they spread their energies over .too wide a field. . They attempt to farm too much land- They do not concen-

trate their efforts. Their overhead charges are consequently too heavy. Far better would it-' be for them to confine their attention- to smaller areas and thoroughly work them.-planting shelter hedges and groves, rugging the cows, and feeding them better, particularly in the winter and early spring. ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT. Whilst the average milk production in Taranaki is fifty per cent, above the average for N.S.W., it is fifty per cent, less than in Denmark. This shows that there is need for; improvement in the breed of the cows, as well as for the provision of better feeding and more shelter. They are needs which, it must be admitted, are being recognised by many of our farmers. Still the proportion of cows under semi-official test is deplorably small, and it is only by systematic testing that, the butter-fat yield can be determined and improved. It is not too much to say that it is possible for a dairyman in Taranaki to make a comfortable living from 50 acres, well farmed —as good a living I perhaps as he is now making I frchn his 100 acres . with con- . siderably rediiced financial responsibilities. ’ There are no doubt difficulties in the way*, Some of them were mentioned by Mr. 0. "Hawken M.P.. for Egin the House of Representatives

the other evening. To subdivide land and improve the quality of the herds entail expenditure of capital. and money is frequently difficult to obtain and the cost of it is generally high. The existing financial institutions do not altogether meet his needs. Efforts must be made to provide him with cheaper money if the country is to be developed, the already settled lands more closely settled, and production increased. The provision of adequate creditfacilities for the farmer is a problem that has also confronted the Australian farmer, though perhaps in a less degree than in Now Zealand, where land values are higher and land speculation more rife. Agricultural banks, financed and managed by the farmers themselves, aided by business men, and entirely independent of the Government are to be establishd in N.S.W. and Victoria, and the necessary capital is now being subscribed. T will endeavor to describe this movement in a future article, also what is being done in N.S.W. by way of irrigation.