DAIRY COW STANDARDS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 780, 1 April 1910, Page 8

DAIRY COW STANDARDS.

;- CAXADIAN • REQUIREMENTS. • .In, view;of the .DalcfielJ dairy herd tests ■ now being carried out by tli& Department of Agriculture it is worth while noting the "standards of milk production which have been laid down in Canada. To enable Canadian, farmers to obtain reliable information as, to whore .. sir.es - of. high-producing ancestry might bo obtained, the Canadian Department of Agriculture took counsel with. :tho various dairy cattle 'associations, and a scheme was drawn up whoreby yearly' milking' tests of purebred; cows might be held. These have now been conducted since 1895,- and an-official register is kept of all the purebred cows which conform to the standards set out.. These.,standards of production were drawn up by the cattle. breeders' societies, and therefore represent the farmers' own idea of what milkers -should do to be worthy' of registration. ' From them it appears that more is expected of . the : Holsteins than of. . any other breed. This is interesting in. view of the headway 'the Holstein has been making of lato in Now Zealand. These cows are big milk yielders with, a comparatively low test. Coming from their low-lying wet, pastures' along the - seaboard of Northern Europe their milk is by no ■means so rich as that of the Jersey, but they make up for this in quantity, and have a way-of getting there pretty .steadily at the end of tho season. ■ As .most farmers will recollect' the holder of the world's record for milk production, is'a Holstein cow .bred in Wiscorisia, U.S.A., by. name. Colantha the Fourth's Johanna. This cow in a year's milking gave 27,432.5 lb. or milk, yielding 938.261b. of butter?' fat. Her average test. for the y<ar was ■ low, being only 3.64 per cent. Johanna's average daily quantum of milk was 75.16 lb., and .of butter-fat 2.7361b.'- This record was made on' the same semi-official test as.has been adopted for the Canadian milk records: Tho farmer takes the Weights - and tests every-'day, and : a Gov-' ernment official comes unannounced at ir-regular-intervals' of -about -a month, and' himself does the weighing and-testing'for two days. By "this means accuracy is pretty well assurred. New Zealand has no ofiicial record so far, but ilow tho Department ha's taken up thi_work of lierd^ testing on a.large scale-rwhicli, it is to be

hoped, will be extended—it should not be long before dairy farmers are able to Ret fairly reliable data. ' The • best performance . chronicled'in , New Zealand up to date is'that put up by. Mr. Griffiths's well-known Granny's Girl; In the year from February, 1907* to February, 3908, this cow gave 10,4601b. of milk,• yielding. 687.21b. •of butter-fat; on an average * test of 6.57 per cent. Except in the/matter, .of, the: average test New Zealand's best hasi therefore, still a. long distance to go to break the world's record—a trilling increase of sd;per cent., in butter-fat. being requifeaV"; ■' •V ; y -\, .' '.V -,'. ■' .; - The Canadian system of registration is cpnfihed.to purebred animals solely, and the records of'grade - cow-s. are not ad'mitted ho matter' how remarkable they may. be.' Bulls, are: admitted when four of 'their daughters,.each from a different, dam,:'have 'attained-''the standards set.; ■The-'"cows': arc':'divided into four two-veaf-olds,'for. instance, being cows between;.two and'three years of, age, ahd 'This standard agreed upph-by the : Canadian Ayrshire Breeders'; Association is as follows:—.- :.-■:.' :■' '""''" '_,-• . .'-,-■.,.';■;: i.Xbs. Lbs. .'.: ':[.■■■■'■.".;',■''■■■' >,'-.:• milk, butter-fat. Two-year-old 'class■•..;'.- '5500'~~ .; : 198 '■;.' . Three-year-old class , SSOO 231 Fom-year-old class... ; 7500 270 i^lattire^class-'•■'.!■■■;.:;. ;,85.q0- ; -.306 This'.-is iEdr.?cows'lieJjn^^'ffiiAtjst;bn,;:;the i .day. on which the'yi.com'p'lete-'their'. second year, day'-the>'animal is over hiro years old at'the beginning of her test the amount of milk she will be required to produce is determined by adding 2.751b. for each such, day'to'the-55001b. given abbvel.';This ; :ratio ;is-'applicfiblo throughout, until the animal' reaches' maturity at

five, years. The batter-fat. ratio is' simi- - larly .1 (one-tenth) per^ay.... . Guernsey cows have: to produce the following amount of milk:— ':■;. ■'■"■' ■• ' ."■.-'■-'..■';.'••■ ■'"-.'" Lbs. - ; Lbs.milk. butter : fat.. Two-year-old class... 5000 200 Three-year-old class ■ 0000 240 Four-year-old class... . 7000 250.. Mature' class . ... : .; ' 8000 - ; ■" 320-: -j jThe milt .ratio in this- classes' the same .- as with the A'yrshires, 2.751b. per' day. ' The butter-fat ratio is .11 of a lb. per i day.- -•:-■ | 'Now., come, the: Holstein-Friesians, ,and \ this is what is required of. them: '. ■ Lbs, Lbs. i , -;- ; - ...... milk, butter-fat., .' Two-year-old class... 7500 255 .' Three-year-old class 8500 289 four-year-old . class.;. 9500 323 Maturo' class' 1 ' ..." 10,500' 357 J Here again the milk ratio to be applied ] is the same, as with ,fhe, Ayrshires, 2.751b. ,

per day; The butter-fat ratio is .0931 of a lbj' per day. y The reguirements for Uib ever-popular Jersey are:; , Lbs. • Lbs. - •; 'milk.-' butter-fa,t. 'IVo-year-Wd class ... 5500 ' 218 Three-year-old class ' ' '651)0 257.. i'our-ycar-old class.... . 7500' • ; 297Alaturo,.class •" ... , 8500 •' 337, The milfc. ratio is: again 2,7slb.'per. day, and the butter-fat ratio .11 of a lb. per day. isefore a cow will. be entered on the record book, it must;undergb a test in its ago'class, for.36s'consecutive days., Each cow accepted for registration must drop a calf. T.'ithiii', fifteen month's of tbo commencement'of the tests. 1 ■ A system, of registration on such lines as these would' be an invaluable' thing for New Zealand. ,