FARMING WORLD

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21226, 24 September 1940, Page 9

FARMING WORLD

Farm Production Up Figures released by some Waikato dairy companies last week provided a further heartening indication of the substantial increase in cheese production. In the case of at least one company the increase for the month of August was reported to be no less than 170 per cent. Of course, the change-over of many butter suppliers to cheese supply was a considerable factor in this substantial increase, but at the same time did not wholly account for it. Not for many years has this district experienced such a favourable spring and the phenomenal increase in production can be mainly attributed to the climatic conditions. However, no small proportion of the increase has been due to the individual efforts of the farmers themselves who have been determined to increase production as their contribution to the Empire’s war effort. The changeover to cheese has been accompanied by inconvenience and some hardship in quite a number of instances, but there is comfort in the thought for those who have changed over to cheese that when hostilities cease the market for cheese promises to be more stable than does the butter market. The menace of margarine has become more real since the outbreak of war and this substitute commodity will unfortunately be very firmly entrenched in the British market when peace comes again. Planning to recover the market for butter after the war is over is a thing to be done now for we can rest assured that the powerful margarine interests will not be content to see the market for their product lose the ground gained during the war. While those producers who have changed over to cheese supply have been temporarily inconvenienced, they should profit in the long run. Herd Testing Values At the end of one year’s testing to determine the quantity of milk and fat each cow in the herd produced, a dairy farmer may be of the opinion that he is in a position to determine its breeding value, but such is hardly the case. The first year’s test does give the quantity of milk and fat produced by each cow in that year, but it does not by any means reveal the true value of each cow. One year’s records are only indicative. The reason for this is simple. Cows have their off years. Cows have been known to produce exceptionally high records one year and a low record the following year. Of course, on the whole, the one year’s test will give the breeder a pretty good understanding of the productive talent of his herd, but that is only part of the information he must have to breed better dairy cattle. It is not onlv necessary to have the production of a cow over a series of years, but it is essential to know the kind of inheritance she transmits to her progeny. It requires several years of testing in a herd to determine what a bull will transmit to his progeny. The testing of a few daughters of a bull does not measure his value. There are bulls with a mixed inheritance. By that is meant bulls that will transmit high production, medium production* and low production. Such bulls invariably are not valuable. The bull that will transmit reasonably high production to all his progeny becomes the valuable breeding animal. It takes only a little calculation to determine that a breeder, in order to know his herd, must test every cow in it and must do so for at least five years before he begins to obtain any idea of the herd’s ability to transmit its good inheritance and good production. A cow that simply produces well and does not transmit this property to her progeny is valuable as a producing cow but has little value as a breeding animal. Mass Of Information A mass of information about farmers and farming conditions is contained in an interesting Government bulletin, entitled “A Survey of Standards of Life of New Zealand Dairy Farmers,” by W. T. Doig, secretary, Social Science Research Bureau, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. An attempt was made, says the bulletin, to ascertain as accurately as possible the hours worked by the various persons engaged in farm work. From the information obtained, it was found that an individual farmer’s hours of work for the week ranged from 9 to 122. Nearly 39 per cent of the farmers were in the 65-74 hours class, while altogether 65 per cent were in the 65-74 and 75-84 classes. ! The survey shows that the majority of dairy farmers (74 per cent) rise at or before 5 a.m. in the summer; approximately 39 per cent rise from 4.30 to 5 a.m.; 25 per cent rise from 4 to 4.30 a.m., and 10 per cent rise at or before 4 a.m. Winter rising is, of course, later; 31 per cent rise from 5.30 to 6 a.m.; 28 per cent from 6 to 6.30 a.m., and 23 per cent from 6.30 a.m. to 7 a.m. The time at which milking is commenced—that is, the actual connecting-up of machines —is a fair indication in most cases of the beginning of the day’s work. In summer 33 per cent of the dairyfarmers started milking from 4.30 to 5 a.m.. 35 per cent from 5 to 5.30 a.m.. and 14 per cent frorfi 5.30 to 6 a.m. In winter later times are

recorded. Fifty-eight per cent of the farmers took holidays during the year prior to the interview; 13 per cent had less than one week, 27 per cent had from one to two weeks, while 18 per cent had over two weeks.