19 

 A COW TESTING ASSOCIATION FOR HAWAII. 



By Prof. Ralppi J. Borden. 



The scarcity and high prices of dairy products during the past 

 year in Hawaii make it more than imperative for our dairy indus- 

 try to be improved. It would seem that every step possible to 

 improve the Island dairy herds should be taken to enable Hawaii 

 to produce all of her own dairy products. The recent laws gov- 

 erning the control of cattle tuberculosis are doing a great deal to 

 stamp out this disease which has cost dairymen so much. Some- 

 thing is now needed which will improve the quality of the dairy 

 cattle that are already here. 



Until the past year, when the largest retail milk depot began to 

 purchase their milk and pay for it on the basis of the butterfat it 

 contained, very few of our dairymen had any idea of the im- 

 portance of the butterfat in milk. "A cow was a cow" so long as 

 she gave down the lacteal fluid. Recently several dairymen near 

 Honolulu have begun to study their herds with a view of increas- 

 ing their butterfat. The present, then, would seem an opportune 

 time for the beginning of cow testing association- work in Hawaii. 



The advantages to be derived from such an association would 

 be many and it would do much tO' improve dairy herd conditions. 

 Wherever cow testing has been started, an almost immediate im- 

 provement in the herd conditions has been evident. If the 

 dairymen can be induced to keep a record of the performance of a 

 few cows in their herd, by weighing the milk and having it tested, 

 other lines of improvement will soon be adopted. 



With the continuation of the county agent system here, it would 

 seem that we have at hand men who would be well qualified to 

 direct and carry on this cow testing work. 



And in connection with this cow testing work why not adopt a 

 somewhat similar plan to one used by the W^isconsin State Dairy- 

 men's Association, that of recognizing and giving credit to rec- 

 ords made by grade dairy cows? Few of our dairymen have 

 purebred cows, but many good grade animals are scattered 

 throughout the Island herds. Let us have a ''Hawaiian Regis- 

 ter of Production" in which the ability of grade dairy cows to 

 produce large amounts of milk and butterfat can be recorded in 

 official form, as is done with purebred animals. This "Register of 

 Production" should include all cows producing 305 pounds or 

 more of butterfat in 305 consecutive days. This "short year" 

 will suit ordinary purposes better because it will enable us to 

 keep up our best dairy practices, i. c, have our cows produce a 

 calf every year and give the cow four to six weeks' res^t before 

 parturition. The cows should be entered in the cow testing asso- 

 ciation for the entire period of their record, and have been tested 

 by the official tester at least once a month. All tests should be 

 guaranteed accurate by the owner of the cow, the tester, and the 

 superintendent or director of the cow testing work. A certificate 



