nnisioy oi' aximal nusBA\DRY 383 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



EXPERIMENTAL FARM, INDIAN HEAD, SA8K. 

 REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDEiJT, T. J. HAP.RISOK, B.S.A. 



DUAL-PURPOSE CATTUE. 



On tlic Tiifliaii lioad Experimental Farm at present there arc in all about forty- 

 ciglit head of breeding cattle, made np as follovv-s: — 



kShortlicrns: 1 bvdl, 7 aged (;o\vs, 16 mileh cows, 9 two-year old heifers, 3 yearling 

 heifers, 2 heifer calves, (i bull calves. 



Ci rades : 4 cows. 



These are not all dairy cattle, a? a number of the cows are of strictl.v beef type. 

 The object, however, of maintaining the herd is to develop, if possible, the dual-pur- 

 pose Shorthorn; in other words, a non-specialized farmer's cow. With this end in view, 

 during the fall of 1918 there was purchased a .vearling bull, "King Edward," of a good 

 milking strain, and sired b.v " Butterfiy King," one of the best dairy sires of the breed 

 in Canada. With this bull at the head of the ShortJiorn herd, in which are alread.y 

 }i few promising individuals, there is hope of developing a profitable milking typa 

 that would be suitable to the average farmer in southern Saskatchewan. Among tlie 

 young cattle espcially there are seme fair individuals, and with the culling out of a 

 number of old cows whose days of usefulness are over, we will be in possession of 

 some good foundation stock which, with judicious handling, should develop into a 

 creditable herd of dual-purpose Shorthorns. 



In former years this herd was treated strictly as a beef herd, the calves being 

 allowed to suck their dams. Now, all the cows are being milked by hand and a record 

 taken of the amount of milk and butter-fat produced in each lactation period. None 

 of the cows have yet completed a lactation period since the commencement of keeping 

 records, and therefore cannot be reported further than that three or four are milking 

 verj' satisfactorily. One drawback is found to this work. It is that the cowa 

 that have suckled their calves in former years have commenced to drop off in their 

 milk production very early in their lactation period. The reason for this is that tho 

 cow was allowed to go dry early when suckling her young and the habit has now become 

 second nature with her. Not much is expected from these cows except that they niay 

 raise a few promising heifers. Therefore, our most reliable foundation will be the 

 heifers tliat are yet to freshen. 



This experiment will require a luunber of years before results are forthcoming. 

 However, as there is such interest being taken in the dual-purpose cow in the West it 

 seems that the development of this cow v/ould be a profitable line to follow. The grain 

 farmers require a cow that will give a large flow of milk and produce a calf that will 

 develop into a good beef steer. 



It is also the endeavour to begin an experiment to determine the profits from a 

 dual-purpose herd by keeping data in regard to the cost of production of milk and 

 butter-fat from the cows, and the cost of rearing calves, yearlings, and 2-year-old 

 Shorthorn heifers. 



