ECONOMICAL BUTTER PRODUCTION.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2000, 6 March 1914, Page 10

ECONOMICAL BUTTER PRODUCTION.

' ■';';'. RESpLTS"dP.TESTS.; :V :/ : - \ ■'%»■.".•"■ : -:':,v .■•.; • ...v'.f" "" '■" ;• ' rfils...Hansst:n, director of tlio Department of Animal' Husbandry in' 'tlio Swedish Central. Experiment Station, ■wh,b'- 'has- closely, studied "tlio large material provided by'tlio cow testing associations-, sums up the 78th report" as 'follows:— v

A/—"As regards tho variations in tho eoriipositibn : of' tho total solids of the milk. ..." •.; :■:,.■■■■. . :; -r '■

J.; "That in all normal milk, with the sumo fat percentage, tho fat always ■forms tho sa'mo /percentago of the total ■solids of tho milicl "If tho fat percentjago drops , in tho milk, the.'f at percentage ;in-tho total solids also drops down,, so jtliat whon tho milk tests 2 par cent, it fonly-is .20 per cent, of tho total , solids, jlf-.tbqfat percentago of the milk"- rises I that in .the total solids' also rises up, •so; that witlua- 6 per cent, milk it I amounts to 40 per cent, of tho solids, j "These changes in tho composition of ['the milk solids havo proved irrespectivc- • 3y:whether the incroaso of fat in tho .milk is duo to breed,-feed, or lactation ■ period.. ;. . ■. .. '■ ~' . . .■,--.

2.',"With, these-variations.in tlio com- • position 'of tho solids' in,' tho'•milk,- the ■ amount of milk'sugar and asVrcnisuns approximately constant iii proportion to . tli'p 'amount of milk. ~ The albumoids, Joirtho other"hand, are in a fixed relaition ,to: tho/total solids, of which they form about 25 per cent. This" causes ■ that an increase or decrease in the total \ solids of the milk becomes —in tho main ( —an increase or decrease in tho fat percentage of tho same'. . '•. :

j- 3. "The result is that the butter-fat in poor milk is charged- with consider- ; ably,more other.solids,than in a richer JTOJlki antli tha"t;::Cqnsequentlyj wherever : the- milk asprodufced chiefly, for "butter- : making or where the milk is paid accordting to its fat percentage,- it is an ecolioimical advantag.o to increase the fat per'centage of tho milk. ;■ " 1

B.—"ln full agreement with the above variations in the composition of the milk,, it has ',been';sliow]i,'.on tho .basis of, thp cow testing association's' reports, as regard? tho economy 'of the milk production:

1. .'.'That .the food consuracd per kg: ' butter-fai'dopends'on tho.fat;ipercentagq' of the milk, so that tlio fqqcfcpnsuinp^ •tipri is reduced when tho fat'.'ppfcentago, increases. When it rises'froni 3'percent. • to 4 per cent., this reduction iu the food iconsumptiqn • amounts under otherwise the. same conditions to-about 4 to 4.5 kg. 'feed units' per kg. butter-fat. The reduction in the food consumption is, at tho same increase in the fat percentage, greater in tho'lovre-r thaulii tho higher fat p?ramtages'. becauso :tho. b'utterrfat is loaded with a larger'amount of solids, jiot fat the lower-'tfofa't- percentago is. Hence it is.of tho greatest economical advantage .to increaso tho fat percentago. • of the poorer millc, and this advantage ; is reduced considerably when, .the fat percentage rises ab0v0.4.5 or 5. I •;2/"That tliQ^foodconsumption per kg., butter;fat' ajsq" jthe -milk yieldj'-as I wiilL'.a"l6w.Vai:erag£)..yieH''.;jke result from, tho feed is poorer. 3* "That-therricher:;milkrreciuh , eS' a greater food consumption fman tho pporer, and'that.,tljp7>inoreasfld!.food re-■tiuii-ementsVcorTesn'ofldsj ftpproximatply to tKo higher' total sSlids'-' in tho richer milk.

"4. "That, . cqnsequqntly, : it must bo lnost economical to -projiuce>poor' milk ifher'eve'r thoinilk'is'paid without regard to its fat percentage. v ' '

-5. "That on the other -hand, wherever tho milk is paid .according to its fat pgrcentago or according to its real mitritiyo value; , at.'is of considerable, economic cal advantage'.-to :UicreaEO;tho; fat per-> ce'ntagqof'tEe milk,- becauso only a-bout 30. per "cent, of the -faliio of the fat gaiucd is ; noeded,;-.tp ;pay; for tho ;«xtra feed made .necessary: thereby. • ;■ ... .

t _JO. '"TJjklj'if'tho attempt's to increaso 1 the fat percentage of the milk are to' ■jihave any economical \ value ~ for. .the- ! fanner,"' it'-.m.oisli. 'be'followed 'jb'y' the ;,qtiality payment'for the'milk.'" .'• . > ;C.—"As regards the possibility of in,-' creasing tho fat percentago of tho milk iby breeding, tho ; investigation ■ made • shows:—;.,,/;.... . .-, .... ■• . j 'jl. ''That there is certainly such a'•possibility if tho difference in rgard.in the breeding'animals is 'properly ■' '■utilis'ed. ,' .. . . . .. .. •

i 2. "That by dividing a certain lierd in ?jnalo aud , female families>it. is possible Ho ! make'the. influence of the breeding Vanimajs.clear.' ' ",

I 3. "Thein-fluenco of the various male wiiinals'is-proved by calculating tho ■average.'.yield of all their'progeny, or, iibcttcr still,'i>7 comparing tlio aveTago yield of the'daughters -with thatof their Imothers when of .the same age. - : I i. "The influence of the bull's mother ton tho fat poioentago of his daughter appears'.plainly'by. tho examples!given. |Jt is thus , pre-eminently the fat/percen,ttage of his mother and liis fcm'aio'ancestors: which" tho bull transmits to his ■progeny./ •/: * • . , 5. "The influence of the male animals ('shown byilid fact tliat a bull, -with certain power- of transmission .in. that juirection, ;can only increase..the.average ifat ■ percentage ' in the progeny of cows pvith. a, lower fat percentages/than" his town, inasmuch as. tho progeny's fat'per.[centago is , lower' than ■ that-of' their another if the same bull is served to cows ■iwhich-havea- higher average fat-per-centage ■than that of .the bull. . This the v same -bulLmay.: raise..,the ■' fat percentage jin a family with a,, low fat percentage j and lower:tho one in,another family with * higher fat percentage; , . «- '■ •, , ■ 6. "Thus,onalo• and'femalo , animals ■ Hransmit to their progeny, tlie fat perifentage ."which, they have inherited ►from ■their .ancestors. ; In ; this direction' they seem both to have an equal influorico on ,t'he fat percentage of tho single'inI dividual as both represent an equally ifiopd constant in its fat' percentage. . Within .the family the , malo has always , i'fi greater influence owing to his larger I number of progeny.' ; ■ ■ \( i "As regards the inlieritanco of the fat ■percentage, there is always found a vari- ,■ atipn- from that of tlio father and ' mother, and the fat percentage between ; tlio ;two -is inherited, but both phis'and : minus variations obtain. Thus the singlo ■•individual niay havo'an average -fat percentage, which.varies materially from ■bath that of his father and mother. •K-hile;tho average, fat percentago of all the', progeny' usually'lies "very- near tho averago of the'father's and mother's genpitypical falj percentage! "As with plant improvement, it) is important with tho improvement of aninials to seek to combine those' qualities Vhioh havo tho greater value. One must try to escape.both.tho,one-sided abnormally,, high mHki yield, often delcteriouß to the health of' tho animals, and the— from an economical standpoint—not much bettor record hunting for a high fat percentage in tho' milk without regard to the amount of milk yielded. The aim,shoiild always:, be, when ' fho • milk is paid according to the;• test, 'to combine tho two aims' in a- demand for »■ largo yiold of butter-fat. ..,,... , : , "Tho nearest, way to' secure a, higher average fat percentago in the milk is a etnet selection of the breeding animals, ' notably tho bulls, in wliich one is guided os regards the male,animal's fat percentage by that of their mother's and female ancestors' average fat percentage, tho influence on their, fattier and male ancestors on thrii; ..Jieifers. ami'; . when the bulls are older," by thoir own. influence on the : 'fat percentage of their progeny."