A CALF POOL

New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 438, 14 November 1947, Page 5

A CALF POOL

‘Sir,-R. A, Anderson comments on my proposal to establish a heifer calf pool from which to improve, not as your correspondent suggests increase, our dairy herds. Your writer seems to be under the impression that the scheme originated with the present "Aid to , Britain" campaign. As you are aware, sir, the proposal was submitted to the then Government many years ago, and was solely in the interests of our own national economy. I am of the opinion that if the plan had been then given effect to we would to-day be in a much better position to help Britain with her present food problem. At that time we were not only on a competitive market, but were also in the throes of a worldwide depression. When world conditions again become normal we will once more be on a competitive market and will have to counter the inevitable drop in the price of ouf dairy produce by reducing the cost of production. This can be done without reducing wages or other expenses connected with our industry, by simply increasing the production per cow. At.present we are milking too many with production below the average. These should be "scrapped" and replaced with heifers from high production stock. Hundreds of potential high producers are sacrificed every season for a "mess of pot-tage’-about 40 Ibs of "bobby calf" meat each. Your correspondent states that the solution is the better feeding of existing herds to make them produce to capacity. I quite agree that cows should be fed all the year round to capacity, but unfortunately we have too many with a maximum capacity for consumption and a minimum capacity for production.

J.

ARMSTRONG

(Opotiki).