MORE MILK

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 August 1938, Page 3

MORE MILK

EXPERIMENTS IN STIMULATION OF GLANDS. Dairy farming may be revolutionised in the near future. Experiments at the Reading University Farm indicate that by stimulating the pituitary gland of a cow in milk with certain hormones the yield goes up and the cow continues to produce milk for twice the normal period. Instead of a cow milking for only the usual seven to nine months, experts believe it is possible to keep the milking period going for 18 months with-

out injury to the animal. Actually, because so big a proportion of the losses in dairy farming arise through risks connected with calving, the cow may be kept in better health by having calves less frequently. The experiments are to be continued cn a much wider scale before farmers arc to De rut into touch with these newer methods of encouraging high milk yields. An indication of the possibilities of controlling lactation in this way is given in a report just issued by the Agricultural Research Council. Experiments at the National Institute for Research in Dairying have shown that hormone administration causes a marked increase in milk secretion and fat production in later lactation, and it has also been found that

the non-fatty solids can be “significantly increased.”

This last result, it is stated, may help to clear up the causes underlying the secretion of milk which is poor in rionfatty solids.