Recommendations

For Fiji’S

Dairy Industry

SUVA. July 10.

THE dairying industry in Fiji consists mainly of one large company operat ing its own farms and factory, and fewer than 40 farmers supplying another factory.

For this reason Mr. E. B. Rice, the Queensland Government expert brought to Fiji to investigate the Colony’s dairy ing industry and to submit recommenda tions for increased efficiency, has declined to support the producers’ request for a committee to be set up to fix the prices of butter in Fiji. He says that in the cir cumstances the producers could always make any representations to the Govern ment through their existing organisation.

Eleven recommendations in Mr. Rice’s report are summarised as follows: (1) Overseas work on the crossing of Zebu with European breeds of cattle to introduce a factor of resistance to high temperatures should be watched: but the use of Zebu crossbreeds for dairying pur poses in Fiji is not recommended at the present time, particularly as there is no milking strain of Zebu in the Colony, (2) Work should be undertaken and given high priority on the selection of legumes to be grown in association with grasses for the improvement of pastures. (3) Trials should be undertaken on the regular mowing of pastures to assist in pasture improvement. (4) Trials should be undertaken on the supplementary feeding of forage crops. (5) Farmers should take care to pro vide good night grazing for their cows. (6) Dairy farmers supplying the Rewa factory should institute a scheme of regular herd recording. (7) The Department of Agriculture should undertake a survey of wastage in dairy herds to determine the reason for such wastage. (8) Both fanners and department should pay special attention to improve ments in calf-rearing practice. 09) Owing to the variation in standards of hygiene on dairy farms, farmers and the department should endeavour to raise the standard of routine maintenance of buildings, the repair of bails where ne cessary and the concreting or gravelling of bail surrounds. (10) Farmers should economise in labour costs by the wider adoption of milking machines. (11) Farmers should engage more widely in the production of by-products of dairying, as the net incomes of farmers who so engage are found to be markedly above the average.