The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1909 THE DAIRY HERD.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2604, 11 September 1909, Page 4

The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1909 THE DAIRY HERD.

' An important movement that will have a very important’ bearing on the dairy industry in the Dominion is just being commenced in the Wairarapa district. On a recent Saturday the first steps in the initiation of a co-operative herd-testing association were taken by a meeting of dairy farmers at Carterton. They acted on suggestions made by the Dairy Commissioner, Mr. David Cuddie, and his first lieutenant, Mr. W. M. Singleton. Both of these experts have recently visited Canada and Denmark, and there is nothing of importance in the dairy world of which they are not cognisant. Mr Cuddie states that the factory work of our butter and cheese makers is being generally conducted on approved economical principles, and -it now remains, for dairy farmers to place the ■ herds on a better footing. In This branch of dairying it is necessary to utilise the scales and the .Babcock test in order to ascertain which are the profitable and which the unprofitable cows in the herd. In this connection) Mr. Singleton cited a striking case of the difference in cows', similar in all respects except productive power. It was that of two grad© Guernsey heifers of exactly the same breeding and the same herd. One was eight years of age; the other ten. Both oalved on the same day. At the end of the year it was found that one had produced 3441 b of fat; the other 160£lb. There was only a difference in cost of production of 4jd, so that one returned a profit of over £l3; the other a profit of 18s; or the on© cow produced as much net profit as would 12£ cows of the other type. With facts like these m evidence, it becomes apparent that the farmer who thinks he can be certain of securing satisfactory results because of the judgment he displays in selecting his cows on their appearance is likely to be led astray. The bestlooking animal in his herd may really be most unprofitable. The work of testing and keeping records, however, is distinctly irksome for the individual farmer, and for this reason, therefore, Mr. Cuddie is advocating the formation of co-operative testing associations which are. to be assisted by the Gov-” ernment. In regard to that which "is being formed afc £arterton, the Daily, Commissioner said they wanted to secure 500 to 600 cows in The association. It would be necessary for the farmer to weigh the milk of each cow every fortnight, record the weight and take' a sample and send forward the samples to a centre once a month. It was considered that weighing the miilk and taking the samples for two. days a month would l>e sufficient- —that would be the minimum. Of course, if any supplier cared to take, more complete samples he could do so. The factory would be asked to supply the testing apparatus. The department would appoint the officer, who would first of all visit the ihdividual farmer and instruct him in the work of testing, test the samples at the factory and record the results. A monthly' statement would be issued, and at the end of the year a complete* summary would be published. The whole expense to the farmer would be the cost of a spring balance, test bottles, and a small case for the carriage of the samples, not amounting to more than 8d per cow. The advantages of these dairy testing associations are apparent in the experience of those countries -where they have been tried. The first Canadian association was established in 1904, and last year there were one hundred associations in operation. The records went to show, that the movement had already raised the average yield of ,the cows in the districts affected by. fully 50 per cent. In Denmark, where the system started in 1895, there., are 479 associations, and in one district where the testing is universal, 38,000 cows show an average annual output of 73681 b of milk, with an average of 2501 b butter fat. As Mr. Cuddie tersely put the position, .“if it pays ' Danes, - Scotchmen, Canadians, and Americans to test their cows, surely It will also pay. New Zealanders.” We shall watch with interest t A

.... 1 ■ 1 the experiment that is_ to be tried by the %airarapa dairy farmers, for we believe-It is .the commencement of an upward movement in the dairy indus- / that will 1 before many years extend throughout the Dominion.