IE July. 1910.] Sensible and Projitablc Dairy Fanning. 455 



The only regret I have is that we cannot establish an export trade in cheese 

 in addition to butter. New Zealand last year exported 22,089 tons of 

 cheese valued at ^1.186,708 and 16.103 rons of butter valued at 



^i,-635-373- 



SENSIBLE AND PROFITABLE DAIRY FARiMING. 



/. S. McFadzean. Dairy Supervisor. 



Success in dairy-farming is almost without exception the result of good 

 management. Without method, dairy farm work can easily become both 

 laborious and unprofitable. With systematic breeding, culling, and feed- 

 ing, a dairy herd may be improved yearly in both appearance and milking 

 quality; but without such attention no advancement can be expected. 

 Throughout the whole State striking instances are to be found of success 

 following on methodical dairy farm practice ; and in the same districts 

 others may usually be seen where lack of such system is the drawback to 

 progress. Dairying with poor milking stock is drudgery. 



Propositions for the improvement of the dairy herd which involve the 

 recording of each cow 's milk production are often put aside on the suppo- 

 sition that they would take too much time to carry out ; yet many dairymen 

 will waste double that amount of time each year attending stock sales in 

 the unsuccessful attempt to buy good cows. A considerable percentage 

 of sale-yard cows are cull .stock ; and every buyer gets his share of them. 

 The dairy farmer who endeavours to maintain a good milking herd solelv 

 by purchasing stock soon becomes more or less a cattle-jobber ; whereas, 

 those who breed their own stock seldom have need to go off their farms. 

 No farmer can do justice to his work if he wastes much time in the saddle 

 or on sale-yard fences. By keeping a good dairy-bred bull, and raising 

 the heifer calves from the best cows each vear, every dairyman can soon 

 place himself in the position that he has no time for such lotteries as stock 

 sales. 



Almost every farmer who keeps cows has surplus milk in the spring 

 that can most profitably be utilized in the raising of a few picked calves. 

 On most places a few calves are raised each flush season ; but, being bred 

 indiscriminately, these have no special value, and they are sold as vealers 

 or stores, according to their condition, when it is decided to dispose of 

 them. The profits from such calf-raising are comparatively small, and 

 beyond the few shillings resulting from each sale the farmer derives little 

 benefit from his work. On the other hand, each heifer bred from good 

 milking stock, and raised to the profit stage, will probably bring in a 

 substantial return for several years. 



Consistent breeding from heavy milking stock will soon even up the 

 quality of the herd as producers ; and if by breeding and culling it is 

 possible to increase the average yield of the herd by even a few gallons 

 each year, it will amount to just so much more clear profit. On many dairv- 

 farms in Victoria where good management prevails the milk yield is over 500 

 gallons per cow ; but there are others on which the average yield is less 

 than 300 gallons. It must therefore be possible, with proper management, 

 to increa.se the milk yield on such farms by fully 200 gallons per cow. 

 A dairy-farmer selling cream would, by doing this, increase his returns 

 by at least ^3 per cow. without allowing any value for the extra skim 



