HERD-TESTING

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 73, Issue 81, 5 April 1930, Page 11

HERD-TESTING

i MANAWATU ASSOCIATION I FEBRUARY RESULTS

General Factors to consider in the Selection of a Dairy Sire.—Of all problems that confront the dairyfarmer this question should perhaps cause him more concern than any others, yet too often only a passing thought is given to this matter and that the least of all questions, the price. Certainly, one would not advise the owner of a small herd of grade cows to buy a bull costing a thousand pounds but too often the bull chosen is determined by the difference of a few pounds. .Some of the factors to consider in the selection of a bull are:—(a) Constitution: A strong constitution is essential for hardy, good producing stock. When it is thought that a cow gives six times her weight in milk each year, it will be seen that a cow must have a strong constitution to withstand this enormous drain upon her system. It will also be seen that unless a cow's lowered vitality at the end of the milking season, is compensated by sufficient nutritious food and a reasonable period of rest, that she will be susceptible to all diseases and cannot yield up to her capabilities the following season, (b) But-ter-fat •‘Backing": As mentioned in a previous article the greater the number of generations, through which selection for some particular qualities has been carried out, the greater the influence the sire has upon those qualities in his progeny. This is true both of type and production, hence a bull with several generations of high producers in his pedigree, would leave a big percentage of high producing stock, (c) Type of Cattle already in Herd: By selecting a bull endowed with strong characters where the present herd members are weak, faults in future stock can to a certain extent be rectified, (d) “Nicking’’ of Strains: By studying the pedigree of the bull, some idea can be obtained of the likelihood of the sires and dams characters fusing successfully, (e) Age of Bull: Whereas a young bull may be easier to control, he is yet unproven as a begetter of good stock, and at least three years of calves will be bred before the quality of his stock is known. A comparison between the production Of a sire’s daughters and those of their dams is the only true guide to f n e ITu 6 x Of a bul1 ’ th «refore no bull should be disposed of until such time as this comparison can be made. If the r a S l n n Pre -’ U< ?i Ce usual, y shown towards old bulls could be overcome, until tne above comparison could be made, many bulls now disposed of would be well worth any inconvenience caused m keeping them until they died, (n of the h?d S <iCpend u P° n the of the held, the cost, per cow decreasing ,i, SlZe hcrd Creases, and also the number of years the bull kepi. The extra cost of a pedigree bull « soon repaid by the higher prices rea

ised for marked calves. A line of six recently sold for seven guineas each. As Group Herd Testing Associations, through calf-marking, are encouraging the use of pedigree bulls, it is only the ; duty of pedigree breeders to place all their cows under test and depend more upon the number of sales to pay for their high priced cattle, rather than rely upon a few high priced animals to bring in satisfactory returns. Dairyfarmers, on the other hand, should realise that pedigree cattle are not given away and their breeding requires considerable skill, gained through years of expensive experience. Further to keep a large number of young bulls on his farm, the pedigree breeder causes a lot of trouble and expense for which he rightly asks compensation, by charging a high price. The farmer can assist the pedigree breeder and lessen his own expense by purchasing bulls as calves. Herd testing shows the value of a good bull and good stock and if pedigree breeders would co-operate with dairy farmers by supporting group herd tesing, mutual benefit would result.

Average cows Average Groups Herds. Cows, per head. B'fat. 1 26 1085 42 28.72 47 1785 38 31.93 4 21 972 46 31.55 a 26 921 36 31.23 6 26 1103 42 32.17 7 34 852 25 32.46 8 40 1066 26 33.83 9 31 1166 37 33.48 10 29 931 32 32.60 11 33 919 28 33.97 12 35 1075 31 28.82 13 32 1113 35 31.92 14 37 1520 41 29.69 Taihape: 1 34 1170 35 31.53 9 26 1006 38 25.97 Rata: 1 33 1080 33 35.51 9 30 751 25 33.14 3 33 982 29 28.84 Average Assn 31.8 1083 35.5 31.15 * ■■■■ .... - —— ■ ■ Total .. 573 19,495 Herd Averages Highest Lowest Groups. Cows. B'fat. Cows B’fat 1 20 40.45 67 20.13 3 15 48.80 68 22.66 Z|. 16 46.25 104 21.39 5 5 37.04 49 22.25 6 39 40.15 51 25.90 7 15 44.00 23 21.30 8 39 42.79 44 16.57 <) 18 38.00 37 20.27 10 7 44.00 43 25.50 11 13 43.23 45 22.84 12 25 41.20 30 19.09 13 18 43.33 62 22.77 14 55 36.63 26 18.03 Taihape: 1 10 44.60 34 18.70 9 30 39.40 24 21.00 Rata: 1 16 44.10 48 22.90 j 8 53.20 51. 25.40 3 5 47.80 30 21.10 Distribution of Herd Averages Herds Lb. B’Fat. • 8 15 t/O 20 59 20 to 25 124 25 to 30 216 30 to 35 116 35 to 40 30 40 to 45 6 4o to 50 3 50 to 5u Size of Herd and Average Butter-fat No. of Herds. Cows in herd. B'fat. 124 5 to 20 34.50 148 21 to 30 31.10 122 31 to 40 31.60 117 41 to 60 30.65 5 61 to 80 29.80 0 81. to 10 28.50 1 100 and over 26.00 Individual Cows Highest Lowest Group. Milk. Test. Fat. Milk. Tost. Fat 1 1395 5.5 .77 150 4.0 6 3 1950 4.0 78 165 3.4 6 4 1125 9.6 108 195 4.0 8 o 1170 5.2 61 210 3.5 7 6 1305 5.1 67 225 3.2 7 7 1080 6.2 66 135 5.0 7 8 855 8.0 68 135 3.8 5 9 1455 5.7 83 120 2.7 3 10 1260 5.6 71 270 3.1 8 11 1650 4.9 81 165 5.9 10 12 1800 3.5 63 120 3.8 4 13 1140 5.8 66 90 5.2 5 14 1320 5.0 66 75 5.0 4 Taihape: 1 855 8.J 69 390 2.8 9 960 6.2 60 240 2.8 7 Rata: 1 1065 7.6 81 210 4.0 8 9 2145 3.6 77 360 2.3 8 3 1170 5.9 69 180 4.1 7