MARKING OF BULLS.

Shannon News, 9 August 1929, Page 3

MARKING OF BULLS.

PEDIGREE DEGENERATES. HAMILTON, July 31. Some hard things are said of pedigree bulls at the annual meeting of the New Zealand Herd Testing Association, at Hamilton, when a remit came forward from the Morrinsville group “that the time is long overdue for insistence on butterfat backing of the sires of marked calves, the basis to be as provided for in the pedigree bull marking scheme.” Mr Robinson, in moving the remit, said that at the present time the progeny of pedigree bulls were sold for high prices, and frequently proved very disappointing - from the point of test. He thought that the butterfat backing of all pedigree bulls should be shown. Personally, he thought they would do well to discard pedigree bulls altogether. The pedigree breeders had had their chance, and had failed to come into line. He did not see why the association should not evolve a breed of its own from the grades. They could then have their grade bulls marked. As the” bull was more prepotent than the cow, the progeny of an unmarked bull and a marked dam could probably be below the standard of the dam. Mr Ingram (Bombay) expressed the opinion that a gt>od grade cow was better than a bad pedigree one any day (applause). Many of the pedigree bulls, he said, were inbred, bad in constitution, and were, not fit to live. A good grade bull had a good consitution, and if he had a butterfat backing behind him, they would get gttod butterfat production 'from his progeny. Mr Hume pointed out that it carried the scheme as suggested would involve a tremendous outlay. The only way he could see out of the difficulty was for a regulation to be brought down whereby no bull ealf born aftei a certain date would be recognised as a pedigree bull in accordance with the caif marking scheme, unless it was bred from a tested dam, or unless his sire was of proved butterfat merit. Mr R. A. Candy (Ngaru) considered that if it were insisted that all pedi. gree bulls should have a butterfat back ing, it would tend to greatly increase the price. He thought they would bi better to insist on all registered cowt being put under test. Mr Dynes Fulton (chairman) agrecu with Mr Candy and said that, if hn proposal were carried out, there would be more bulls available for distribu tion. If the breeders were not going to take more interest in finding out-the butterfat qualities of their own cows, then the industry was going to slip back. One of the chief -works before the advisory council of the federation (and he, as chairman, was going to do his best to help it) was to induce the federation to insist on the whole of the registered cows being put under test. He was satisfied that a better scheme than the present one could be evolved at less cost to the country. A motion was finally carried that the association ask the federation to use its influence in getting all pedigree cows put under the test.