10 Feb.,, 1919.] Jerseys in the Drier Districts. 87 



JERSEYS IN THE DRIER DISTRICTS. 



By J. S. McFadzean, Senior Dairy Inspector. 



On account of its somewhat warmer climate the north-eastern district 

 of Victoria is considered by many people to be much better suited for 

 sheep grazing than for dairying. But as the country becomes more 

 closely settled, and the holdings smaller in area, grazing will no longer 

 be profitable, and, consequently, wherever there is land suitable for 

 cultivation, this occupation must inevitably be replaced b.y dairy farm- 

 ing. One acre of land properly cultivated will produce more than 

 enough fodder to keep a cow in full milk the year through ; whereas 

 there are only a few picked localities in the whole State where a cow to 

 the acre can be kept in milk for even five months of the year on grazing 

 alone. One acre of cultivation for each cow in most dairy herds will 

 enable the owner to get an average yearly return from them of fully 

 £10 per head in cream alone ; and with the sales from pigs and calves 

 this will be increased by a further 30 per cent. 



The man who attempts to run a dairy farm without making adequate 

 provLsion for a full supply of fodder for'his stock is joining the already 

 over-crowded ranks of the struggling dairymen — that great army of men 

 who will not cultivate land, who keep all sorts of cheap cows in their 

 herds, and who look upon weighing and testing each cow's milk as a 

 useless idea instead of, as it is, one of the essentials in profitable dairy 

 farm work. If all dairy farmers could only be brought to realize that 

 in milk production a constant supply of green food is more essential 

 for the cows than walking exercise, they might cultivate a few of the 

 many acres their cattle now wander over in search of food. In dairy- 

 farm work each acre cultivated for green fodder will produce more milk 

 than 10 acres of grazing. 



One of the results of the Government herd-testing work has been to 

 bring into prominence the dairy herd of Mr. J. D. Read, of Springhurst, 

 in the Wangaratta district. For some fourteen years Mr. Read has 

 been breeding pure Jersey stock for cream production, and has been a 

 constant supplier to the local butter factory. When the departmental 

 scheme was inaugurated in 1912, this Springhurst herd was one of the 

 first to be entered for competition, and the cows and heifers have showu 

 that the north-eastern Jerseys can establish good records. During the 

 year ended 30th June last, sixteen Springhurst cows and seven heifers 

 gained their certificates — their average production for the 273 days' 

 test being 622 gallons of milk of 5.5 test, and 346 lbs. of butter fat per 

 head. Further, on the last day of the test the 23 head gave over 27 

 gallons of milk, showing that they were likely to add considerably to 

 their average butter-fat yield before being dried off for the season. 

 This average of 346 lbs. of fat per cow is just about double the average 

 obtained from the best of the Gippsland herds; in fact, if only the best 

 half of these herds were taken, their production would not nearly 

 average half of that of these Springhurst Jerseys. 



Mr. Read has altogether some 1,400 acres of land in his farm, but of 

 this, 900 acres are kept for sheep grazing, while the balance is used by 

 the dairy stock. At the beginning of October last the number of pure- 

 bred Jersey cattle here was 73 head, viz., 2 stud bulls, 38 cows and 



