THE HERD

Waikato Times, Volume 114, Issue 18986, 1 July 1933, Page 23 (Supplement)

THE HERD

The Marked Bull. A most interesting discussion took place at the recent council of herdtesting associations on the marked bull, the use of which Is being made compulsory In order to qualify calves for marking. The main point made was that while the herd-testing move-

ment had rendered a very great service to the pedigree breeders of the Dominion, by requiring that the sire of the marked calf must be a pedigree animal, the pedigree breeders had failed to met the position by refusing to place their herds under test In order to provide the necessary number of bulls from tested dams. The position was now made worse owing to it being compulsory for the pedigree sire to be from a tested dam. Meanwhile herd-testing farmers are being compelled to discard good grade bulls and replace them with pedigree bulls of poor butter-fat backing. In referring to the unsatisfactory production of some marked heifers It

was pointed out that many of these 1 heifers were sired by pedigree bulls that were the sons of untested cows and which were practically pedigree culls. Even Mr Guy Bell, the chairman,a pedigree breeder, said he quite realised that a good number of pedigree bulls had not given the satisfaction they should have given. He sympathised with some men who had io get rid of good grade bulls. * * * * I , The Standard of Backing. i The Wairarapa Association wanted i an exception made in regard to the ‘ backing of a qualified bull. Where ’ the dam had failed to produce the 1 butter-fat required it was considered

that if the two grand dams had put up satisfactory records the bull should be qualified, it being argued that the dam of the bull may have just failed to qualify owing to a poor season, it was pointed out by Mr. Hume, the supervisor, that the Federation was agreeable to- make an exception where the dam had failed to qualify owing to having received an injury, but not where disease was the cause.

A Good Argument. The general opinion of delegates was that the argument, in regard to having two well-backed grand-dams was sound enough, but that exceptions were dangerous. Where would they end? It was better to breed from animals with many records behind them than from an animal having only one record to boast oT was the opinion of the chairman, an opinion quite in agreement with the axiom of old British breeders before the days of testing—that it was better to breed from the poor member of a good family than the outstanding member of & poor family. * * * * Tho Mors Records the Better.

The day will come when bulls having many records behind them will have to be distinguished by being placed in a special class. Or it may be that the Federation will stiffen up the requirements as the system develops, demanding not only that the dam of the qualified bull shall have reached a certain standard, higher too, than the standard now accepted, but that two grand-dams shall also have established satisfactory records of production. Many a fair record has been made, by reason of high feeding and special care, by a pedigree cow with poor butler-fat backing and herself an unprofitable producer Under ordinary conditions. One of the weakest constitulioncd strains in one breed has been largely used in this country because of the good records of young members of the strain put up in America under artificial conditions, but the records were never repeated nor was ever one of the recordmaking heifers a satisfactory producer at full maturity. Naturally weak in constitution the forced test was too great a strain. The best indication of constitution is the continuous record. And farmers of the future will only use a pedigree sire whose dam has made a long succession of satisfactory records. How are pedigree sires of the future to be indicated to distinguish between those having a darn j with only one record and those which I have a succession of good records, 1 or those from a high-producing dam | and having at the same time two grand dams with high records? Perhaps special classification would make the system 100 cumbrous, but tire certificate would no doubt indicate the | full extent of Ihe backing. | * * * * Herd Record, j The record of Mr Huy ii. Roll's ' pedigree herd of Jerseys (,?6 being' (Continued in next column.) j

first and second calvers) of 4531 b for 35 cows just beats the highest herd average for South Auckland, made in the 1929 season, when the 51 grades, many of them two-year-olds, of Mr Cunningham, of Kiwilahi, averaged 4521 b.

A Long Way to Go. In a speech at the opening of the herd testing conference Dr. Annctt made a very important point. Tills'was that the annual replacements in the dairy herds of the Dominion called for 250,000 new cows; but only 25,000 cows were qualifying to have their j calves marked, or only a tenth of the I additions to our herds were potential | producers. This obviously points not only to the necessity of a big expansion of the herd tesling movement hut an urgent need of more pedigree sires with butter-fat backing.