10 April, 1918.] The Advantages of Herd Testing. 195 



owners of these unprofitable stock must every year be losing much 

 money and time by retaining them in their herds. 



To consider the situation properly, let us recognise that the grazing 

 of each cow will cost not less than 9d. per week. A man who Avill milk 

 25 cows is worth fully 22s. 6d. a week and his keep — say not less than 

 35s. per week altogether, which is equal to about Is. 5d. per cow. Graz- 

 ing and milking thus costs, at the very lowest estimate, not less than 

 2s. 2d. per cow per week, and assuming the commercial value of butter 

 fat to be Is. per lb., it will be seen that the owner of a cow yielding 

 150 lbs. will have as profit something less than 9d. per cow per week, or 

 38s. per year, without making any allowance for upkeep of plant or culti- 

 vation of feed. Yet there are many cows, more or less hand-fed, which 

 do not give 150 lbs. of butter fat per year in return. It is very evident 

 that no one can hire labour and make dairying profitable with cows of 

 this class ; and the question every dairy-farmer should settle is, " How 

 many of these inferior dairy stock is he keeping ? " 



It is by no means unusual to read accounts in newspapers of the 

 hardships of poor Gippsland dairy-farmers, who are said to be struggling 

 against starvation in their endeavour to make a living from dairying. 

 But what is not told is the fact that the " strugglers " amongst dairy- 

 farmers are invariably people who expect to make a success of dairying 

 without any system of working. Hundreds of people keep cows for 

 dairy work and never grow an acre of green fodder for them. How 

 many are there who never weigh or test the milk from any of their 

 cows? How few are improving their annual returns by systematically 

 breeding from their best cows with bulls from tested dairy stock? The 

 actual fact is that the sole claim that the average ''strugglers" have to 

 the name of dairy-farmer rests on their dragging a few quarts of milk 

 from underfed and poor-quality cows. They will not try to learn the 

 business properly, and they continue to be '' strugglers." Yet, while 

 there are always some people ready to hold up this class of cow- 

 keeper as typical 6f Gippsland dairymen, there is usually to be found in 

 their immediate neighbourhood, sometimes on adjoining blocks, others 

 who are making good progress on exactly similar land. All through 

 Gippsland, as well as the rest of the State, farmers who carry on dairy- 

 ing on proper systematic lines are doing well. Each year marks some 

 progress in their work, and some monetary advancement. Those Avho 

 fail to make headway in dairying have usually only themselves to blame, 

 and there is no need to travel far to find evidence of it. 



When at Moe recently the writer visited the farms of two dairy- 

 farmers who are typic.il of the progressive class. One of these is working 

 on country which is still largely in its rough state ; while the other, longer 

 established, has his property in full working order. Both grow fodder 

 for their stock; both test their cows and cull out those which are un- 

 profitable; both are breeding on lines that will raise the producing 

 standard of their cows still higher, and both are making arrangements 

 to bring their stud cows under the Government test. These dairymen 

 have no fault to find with their business. They are getting satisfactory 

 results, and can see their way to still better returns. A short account 

 of their farms will not be out of place. 



The first property is owned by Mrs. Sefton, and the dairy-farm 

 work is managed by her son, Mr. S. E. Sefton. The farm is 



