BETTER COWS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 14 April 1928, Page 16

BETTER COWS.

IMPROVEMENT OF BUTYLS. The ultimate goal of the bull association, as set up in America, is better cows. The co-operative dairy bull association is a fanners’ organisation wlios© chief purpose is the breeding ol better dairy cows through the joint ownership use and systematic exchange of prepotent purebred dairy bulls of high-producing ancestry. The first bull association in the United States was oi’ganised i.n Michigan in 1908, There are now 248 bull associations in 33 States. A study of the records of the daughters of hull association bulls showed an average yearly mature production of 8071 b milk and 3421 b fat. In milk production the daughters excelled the dams 13.5 per cent, in butter-fat production by 14.4 per cent. Some Q-f the sires are very outstanding. One sire was mated with cows having an average yearly milk production of 90001 b. and an average yearly butter-fat production of 3471 b, yet his seven daughters from these cows excelled their dams by 57 per cent, in milk production and' by 44 per cent, in production of butter-fat. -

In many localities the banks are helping to finance the purchase of better dairy sires.

Through the system of transferring bulls from block to block, the bull association makes it possible to keep all proved hulls as long as they live or are fit for service.

The typical bull association consists of five blocks to each of which one bull is assigned. All the bulls are owned by the association.

In a bull association the hulls must all be the same breed.

Much progress has been made by selecting bulls on the records of their dams and grand-dams. The most rapid progress cannot come until dairy sires are selected on the production records of their daughters.