Transactions of RHASS Volume 1940 - Page 080
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| Year | 1940 |
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| OCR Text |
148 MILK RECORDS. portion of the return from milk recording is handed on beyond the actual milk producers. There remains a still wider aspect of the question. Large numbers of milk record bulls and young cows ‘are exported annually, and go to maintain and improve the milking qualities of the dairy herds of the Empire. The Association’s activities are not confined to the official testing and recording of the individual milk yields, but are directed also to assisting the herd owners to improve their methods of production by means of the records obtained. The work is to some extent of an educative or advisory nature. Official recorders have to attend a course of instruction which includes the feeding and general management of the dairy herd, and are required to do all they can to interest and advise members in this connection. The Association have prepared and issued to all members a concise practical guide to feeding of dairy cows, containing a table of fifteen selected food mixtures adapted to different conditions, and recorders and Central staff take every opportunity of assisting members to follow the instructions given therein. SCHEME 0F PRIVATE OR UNOFFICIAL MILK RECORDS. The Association’s scheme of private or unofficial milk records, inaugurated in 1924, was continued in 1939 on the same lines as in previous years. The chief objects are to establish milk recording on a wider and more popular basis, and to induce a greater number ultimately to adopt the system of official authenticated milk records. Milk recording under this scheme was administered directly by the Association. The following inducements were offered to members :— (a) The hire of a set of appliances for testing purposes free of annual charge, the member to upkeep the apparatus in good condition. (17) Byre sheets and' record books free of charge, with stamped addressed envelopes for return of byre sheets. (0) All calculations in byre sheets and record books to be made in the Association’s office, and the sheets and record books to be returned to the herd owners duly extended and completed. (d) The total charge on members to be limited to an annual subscription to the Association at the rate of 1s. per cow tested. Nine new members were enrolled for 1939. Five of the members were transferred to the scheme of official recording. The total membership for 1939 was 69, and the total number MILK RECORDS. 149 'ncluded 1776. This new scheme of recording had Eggsellld of 1939 been the means of obtaining for official recording 73 new members of a very desirable type, which is one. of the objects for which it was promoted. _ h. There are several reasons why the membership under t_ is scheme has not increased in recent years._ The better mllklllllg' herds are gradually transferred to official records. At t e other extremity there are a cons1derablc proportion of p005 herds, the owners of which are ev1dently unduly discouragia1 bv the low yields recorded, and apparently have not Ehe mentality to appreciate the poss1bihties of effecting e much-needed improvement. Also, a number of members, after two or three years’ experience, beheve they can carry on recording on similar lines independently at smaller cost. This scheme of unofficial recording has served a useful purpose. For reasons already given, its effect must not be measured merely by the number of herds included manyi particular year; account must be taken of its educationa influence and propaganda value. Thus a conSiderable pro- portion of the members who have Withdrawn, and meantime severed their connection with the AssOCiation, have acquired the milk recording point of view, and-ought ultimately to be found among members of milk recording societies. No fewer than 452 herd owners have been initiated in milk recording 1 ‘ 0 its 0 eration. I thl’.[(‘)llilej}follow'ng is a brief outline of the method of recording adopted :— _ _ . All cows in the herd yielding milk must be included in the record. Each cow must be clearly distinguished in the byre by a stall number on the wall. On the occasion of a test .the cOws must be milked in the same rotation evening and morning, and care must be taken that the milk of each cow for twenty- four hours, and for twenty-four hours only, is included in the test. The owner, or his agent, is required to weigh the milk of each cow evening and next morning by means of the spring balance and pail provided, once every twenty-one to twenty- eight days, and to enter the results and other necessary particulars in the byre sheet prOVided by the Ass001ation_; and each byre sheet must be signed by the owner, or on his behalf, as correct in respect of all entries made. The byre sheet is sent by first post to the superintendent, and calculated and extended by the Association’s staff, and returned to the owner as soon as completed. A milk record book for each herd is written out in the Association’s office. The record books are closed at the end of the recording season as at 30th November, and the results summarised and entered in special summary sheets. The record books and copies of the summary sheets, when completed and checked, are sent to the respective owners of the herds. |
| Title | Transactions of RHASS Volume 1940 - Page 080 |
