Cow Testing Associations 507 



The following is an extract from an article printed in a recent 

 copy of the '' Montgomery County Farm Bureau Kews " : 



SUCCESSFUL COW-TESTING ASSOCIATION WORK 



George Bkainaed, Canajoharie, N. Y, 



With the cow-testing association on a sound working basis, the 

 results are becoming more and more apparent each month. These 

 results are visible, not theoretical or imaginary. I will endeavor 

 to cite several instances to show that the work has in a measure 

 been successful. 



1. A short time ago a dair^yinan wished to dispose of a calf. He 

 was about to make way with one, when it occurred to him that he 

 would see what the dam had been doing. In looking over her 

 record, he saw that the dam was a good cow, paying him a fair 

 profit each month. Consequently, another calf, whose dam's record 

 was not so good, was disposed of instead. Were it not for an 

 association record on his herd, he would not have known which was 

 the better calf to keep. 



2. Another man, in looking over his cow-testing record, decided 

 that some five or six of his cows were a poor business proposition. 

 He at once began investigating to find why these cows were not 

 paying. In the majority of instances, the cows' teeth were found 

 to be almost entirely gone ; one cow was nearly dry, with no signs 

 of freshening this season. The result was that they were sold and 

 other stock were put in their places. 



3. Late in the spring, when some farmers were beginning to 

 look over the silage and hay on hand, one man decided he could 

 not get all his herd through the season in the stable and give them 

 the usual ration. As he therefore figured that four cows must 

 go, he sold the four poorest — those which from the time of 

 freshening had netted him little or nothing for the feed they con- 

 sumed and the labor he had put on them. How did he know which 

 were his four poorest cows ? He simply refen*ed to his record 

 book, and a few minutes' study told the story. 



4. A herd which had about a six months' association record on 

 it was recently sold at auction. One of the prospective buyers 

 hesitated to purchase without knowing the cows' records at the 



