INFLUENCE OF THE SIRE

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 454, 8 September 1928, Page 27

INFLUENCE OF THE SIRE

WHAT RECORDS SHOW It is not enough for dairy farmers to feed, house and protect the health of their cattle in the best approved manner. It is of considerable importance to know whether the average production from year to year is going up or down. One might, by the right feeding, increase the production of his heard by 15 to 20 per cent., and at the same time daughters of these cows by the use of a poor bull may he reduced as much or more. The value of a “grade” dairy cow is almost entirely measured by her milk production; the value of a purebred is measured by production, type and the known production performances of her ancestors. How good a hull must a dairy farmer have if the daughters are to produce more than their dams? The answer to this question depends on the average level of production of the dams. Figures and Facts To partially answer this question the United States Bureau of Industry has compiled some records of dams and daughters from cow-testing association reports. The records include “grade” and purebred cows, a total of 4,364 yearly records. The records of “grade” cows and their daughters are compiled separately from those of purebred cows and daughters. From these figures it is shown that when the average production of “grade” dams reached 3941 b. of butterfat, the average bull mated with such cows failed to get daughters whose production exceeded their dams’. The records for purebred dams show that when their average production reached 3941 b of butter-fat, the purebred bulls mated with such dams failed to get daughters capable of producing more than their dams. The owners of “grade” and purebred dairy cattle with such records are forced to search for proved sires if the production of their herds is to be maintained or increased. Thus cow-testing association records * are valuable not only as a means of eliminating scrub cows, hut also as a basis for selecting good sires. When dairy farmers more generally recognise the importance of this, methods of finding the kind of sires needed and of using them more intelligently will become a permanent part of our programme of improve ment.

Generally acknowledged as one of the three best beef breeds in the world, it will give great joy to Hereford cattle raisers to know that a cow of that breed has won the highest individual yield championship in the Cheshire Milk Recording Society. The cow in question is G. 118, a Hereford, the property of Mr. R. Gleave, has produced 19,55511 b of milk in 309 J days.