THE HERD SIRE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 3, Issue 298, 28 April 1941, Page 5

THE HERD SIRE

ADVICE TO DAIRY FARMERS

MR C. M. HUME'S OBSERVATIONS

At the Dairy Board meeting in Whakatane last week, the Herd Recording Supervisor, Mr C. M, Hume, referred to the Sire Survey work which was being carried out. "This all-import ant) work," he said, "is steadily expanding and the figures already obtained emphasise in no uncertain way the necessity for moro work being done in this direction.; for instance, the figures for the past season shew clearly that in 430 survey only one bull in four capable of definitely improving on, the qualities of the dams to which he is mated, ancl roughly 40 per cent of those surveyed have production. The two fundamental lessons to be learnt from Sire Survey work are : 1. The necessity for keeping a bull until he is of an age to be proj videdi and then determining whether he is an asset or a liability to the herd. 2. The exercisie of much greater care by the dairy farmer in the selection of his next herd sire. It has been definitely proved that sirejs can, on the average, be kept in use much longer than they are being kept at the present time. A slogan that should be adopt edi by the dairy farmer is: If your, sire* is worth buying he is worth proving.