DAIRY BREEDS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1618, 9 December 1912, Page 10

DAIRY BREEDS.

THE PERFORMANCE AVERAGES. Dairymen, will find a good deal to interest, them m a summary to hand by the latest Frisco mail of the latest Canadian record of performance. tests. In '• the record of performance, tests are made under Government supervision of all the leading dairy.breeds. •■ The-following is a table showing ;tHo; yearly production in pounds of butter-fat, of.';all of the cows in each breed so far tested in record of performance:—- ; v :y ■. .; Five Tears and Over. -.'.■•' ' lbs. .'. ' ■- ; : Averaged..Butter-fat. Ayrshire ...•...".....'.....: 67 390.889 ' liolstein : »....;..'.„•;..: 74',- 438.63G . French Can.' •:...;„. 8 - : 339.023 . Guernsey •.:•/..'../„..... - l'. .'.. 430.74 Jersey ■ 3 -.-.. .^515.09 Four Tears.Old!" r ' 1 . . ........ ... ...... ... 1b5: ,,.. Averaged. Butter-fat. Ayrshire ..... 23 . 363.346 .' Holstein ..;.„...;........ 33 ■ 429.595 French Can.-.;.;...'..... 1 . • 357.48 Guern5ey.,•.!.......;..... 1, • .495.74 Jersey ■■.% 437.905 . Three Tears Old. ,--"'-•■■■•. r- ■•■■ •■'.lbs. Averaged. Butter-fat.-Ayrshiro * 41 ■ 345.67 Holstein . ..42 ■■■'. French Can...... .'.."; i' : .308.79 .. Guernsey .............. I.' 384.9 —-Jersey -....:..."• il'i .., -.-459.33 : . Two Tears Old. . ' ■'• - .■.•; ibs. Averaged. Butter-fat. Ayrshire ................ 82 294.364 Holstein ............... 81 ■ 358.590 French Can. 7 250.894 Guernsey ;..... '4 370.807- . Jerseys .....' 7. 381.628. "There is Good in ali Breeds." Commenting on the report, "Farm and Dairy" considers it is most convincing testimony of the' fact that there is good in ail breeds, and that''success in dairying is more a matter of- getting the best ■ : 6train of the breed you like than in impartially choosing any breed as being the most profitable. A study of the above table will showthat in all- coses the Holsteins have averaged, somewhat' higher in : fat production than have the Ayrshires. ■ A mote complete study of the: report, however, shows a wido variation, in the producing abiliV ties of animals in both breeds, therebeing vary high producers in both breeds,, .and that there have also been many.Ayrshires and Holsteins tested that just produced enough to qualify, for. Record of. Performance, and many in both breeds .that did not-Qualify■• at all. Ayrshiro .fanciers claim, with some show of justice, that their 1 cattle being smaller eat less, and are therefore just as profitable; as is the higher jyoducing Holstein. This claim, which sci-ms reasonable, will be- ; put to test when the system of feed re-' cords that is now being conducted in ■ connection with the ■ Record of Performance test is got on a -better basis. Channel Island Breeds Load.' A noteworthy feature of the tests is that in 110 class Are cither Ayrshires or Holsteins on top hi the average of all, animals tested. . For instance, in the class for cows five years old and over, the Jerseys, averaged'sls.o9lb. of butter-fat, the Guernseys. 430.74, and the Holsteins , were batwooii the two with 438.631b. of butt?r'-fat. In the four-year-old class tile Guernseys are on.top, and in the class for three and two-year-olds tho Jer-; seys again have the highest average production. Many dairymen have been inclined to regard the Jersey and Guernsey as the rich man's cow, and not at all suitable for'the. commercial..; dairyman, and not in the same class with cither Holsteins-or Ayrshires. ' Record of Performance results show that here also it is strain that counts, and not breed. Of course, the smaller number of Jerseys and Guernseys tested make the results less authoritative and less indicative of the general producing ability of the breed thin arc the Ayrshire and Holstein results. If the average milk production of the different breeds were determined it. would be found that the Holsteins are far iii the lead; but. their test was .the lowest of any breed. Of the 74 aged cows tested, their average was only 3.34 per cent, but-ter-fat, as comnared with 3.96 for Ayrshires, 4.82 for Guernseys, 4.45 for FrenchCanadian, and 5.24 for the Jerseys. Only three of all the nolsteins tested to date have averaged over 4 per cent, fat for tho whole lactation period. ' Several animals qualifying have tested below 3 per cent., and one animal had a test of only 2,77 per cent. Here again, however, strain is more important than, breed, as Holsteins are recorded' testing 4.45. per cent., and Ayrshires as low as 3.26-per wit. Guernseys in all classes varied from 4.82 to 6.13, and the Jerseys from 4.14_ -to 5.75 per cent, of fat..' Until feed records are published along with milk and fat records, the.question as to which breed contains the' most economical producers must remain in abeyance. Really, it will never be settled, as there will always be profitable and unprofitable cows in all.breeds. The biggest lesson of the Record of. Performance . is that strain, not breed, should receive *rst consideration, -. ■■■-.■