640 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



for which, the association was organized is the selection and rejection 

 of individual animals, the results, direct and indirect, cover a very broad 

 field. 



The tester, being an expert dairyman, not only studies the individual 

 animals in the herd as to their capacity for utilizing feed economically, 

 but he also assists the farmer in selecting those feeds which contain 

 the greatest amount of food nutrients at the lowest price, thereby creating 

 a larger net return per cow, per acre, per dollar's worth of feed, and, 

 last but not least, per man. This larger net return per cow is brought 

 about not only by the increased yield of the cows, but by improved econ- 

 omy in the conversion of feed into finished product. 



One of the direct results is improved breeding. Many testing associa- 

 tions have proved to be forerunners of breeding associations, or bull 

 associations, for the development of purebred cattle of breeds particu- 

 larly adapted to the local conditions. 



The cow-testing movement, being an organized effort for improvement, 

 is conducive to better community spirit. At the monthly meetings prob- 

 lems of interest to dairymen are discussed, and this discussion often 

 stiumlates a friendly rivalry for attainment of the best results. The 

 systematic and cooperative effort creates an interest in the growing of 

 better forage crops and in better feeding; in more sanitary stabling and 

 better care of the milk; it opens the eyes of the farmers to the value 

 of system in their work, and leads to the application of better business 

 methods. 



Co-operative buying of feeding stuffs is a feature in nearly all cow- 

 testing associations. At the monthly meetings the members place in the 

 hands of the board of directors an order for the amount of feed stuffs 

 they wish to buy. The aggregate of these orders often amounts to sev- 

 eral carloads, and by buying in carload lots and for cash, lower prices 

 and freight rates are obtained. The officers of the associations study 

 the markets for feed stuffs and are often able to take advantage of a 

 low market. In this way business judgment is stimulated and the indi- 

 vidual member is enabled to reap the benefit of the business judgment 

 of his more experienced co-workers. 



The work, broad as it is, has value not only for the farmer, but also 

 for the creamery and the cheese factory, since it encourages better dairy 

 methods at the same time that it procures larger remuneration for the 

 dairymen. One of the causes of dissatisfaction with creameries and 

 cheese factories has been the low average production of dairy commodi- 

 ties. The farmer has not had any systematic performance record of the 

 production of his individual cows, and it is natural for him to think 

 that someone else besides himself is responsible for the low return, and 

 the creamery or cheese-factory manager, being the one who purchases his 

 milk or cream, has received the blame. Many farmers have had only a 

 half-hearted interest in dairying, because the average production of their 

 herds has been so low that they could make but a small profit therefrom. 

 The experience already gained in places where associations have been 

 organized shows that with the elimination of the poor cows in the 



