1 9° Jdiinial i)f At^r/c/z/ti/ri. [lo March, igoq. 



WARRAGUL DAIRY FARM COMPETITION. 



.4. T'. Becker, Dairy Supervisor. 

 Report to the Secretary, Warragul Agricultural Society. 



I was rather disappointed to see only tliree competitors, but, perhaps^ 

 now that the competition has been once started there will be a better entry 

 next year. 



The stock seen on the farms were well above the average type, especially 

 Mr. Tyssen's Jersey herd, which includes such well-known strains as Werri- 

 bee Park, Woodmason's and McCulloch's. Mr. Strickland has some verv 

 nice Ayrshire cows, and the young cattle from these by milking Shorthorn 

 bulls look very promising. A very strong Ayrshire strain is present in Mr. 

 Gaul's herd, both bulls now used being typical pure bred Ayrshires. All 

 the cattle were in splendid condition and showed evidence of being kindlv 

 treated and well fed. 



I would like also to specially mention Mr. Tyssen's pure Yorkshire 

 pigs, which were in excellent condition, especially a fine litter of ten by 

 his imported boar " Avalanche " out of one of his best sows. Mr. Tyssen 

 also had a very nice lot of white Leghorn fowls which had returned him 

 a profit of jQiT^ ids. 6d. for the twelve months. Mr. Strickland's stock 

 includes some magnificent medium draught horses for farm work, as well as 

 a very fine team of 14 working bullocks which do the bulk of the heavy work 

 with a set of disc harrows specially made for them. 



The two leading farms are well equipped with implements, but Mr. 

 Tyssen gets his work done by contract, and his farm suffers owing to his not 

 being able to get the work done when required. The buildings on the 

 whole are good, and I should like to make a special note of the exjcellent 

 accommodation provided by Mr. Strickland for his men. The latter have 

 their own cook, kitchen and dining-room, and good wholesome food is 

 cleanly served ; all the meat is killed on the place. 



The fences on the two leading farms are very good indeed, being solid 

 posts with wire well strained, and good gates provided where necessary. 

 The other farm lost a good many points in this respect, as the fences were 

 in very bad repair and there was not a decent gate on the place. 



The sanitary conditions and cleanliness on the two leading farms were 

 satisfactory — especially at Mr. Gaul's. His yards, sheds and cheese room 

 were scrupulously clean. The milking methods were good, the udders of the 

 cows being clean and free from any signs of dirt adhering from wet 

 handed milking without washing. The winning farm lost points in this- 

 respect ; also for the dusty condition oi the >ards, which were covered with 

 dry powdered manure. The third farm lost heavily through general untidi- 

 ness of the cow shed and the quantity of weeds to be seen growing in the 

 yards, garden, orchard and crops. 



The cultivation methods on the two leading farms were very good, the 

 land being well worked and the headlamls clean and free from weeds. 

 The maize at Mr. Strickland's was especially good, and so was his storage 

 of fodder. He had 25 tons of excellent rye grass and clover hay, and 

 about 120 tons of oaten hay besides good crops of millet, potatoes and 

 onions. Mr. Gaul had some nice maize but, being .sown on a hill, it had 

 suffered from the dry spell. The potatoes alongside were excellent. 



Mr. Tyssen scored full points for the careful way in which he keeps 

 daily records of each cow's yield and regularly tests them, and I was glad 



