HERD IMPROVEMENT 187 



chance to hear his neighbors' problems discussed and thus in- 

 creases his knowledge as to the general business of dairying. It 

 will be interesting to watch the development of this plan which 

 seems to have much in its favor. 



311. Herd improvement.— We have discussed the different 

 methods of keeping records of milk produced and feed consumed. 

 Now, we want to point out just what value these records have and 

 how they may be used to improve the herd and make it more 

 profitable. 



The first thing the records tell is what cows are not paying for 

 their feed. Obviously these cows should be disposed of at once. 

 Next, the dairyman will know just how much each of the rest of 

 his cows is paying for his labor, interest on his investments, etc. 

 When these things are taken into consideration, the value of the 

 product should be at least twice the value of the feed to justify 

 keeping the cow, except under special conditions as will be men- 

 tioned later. Thus, the records show what cows should be sold and 

 what ones should be kept. 



312. Weeding out poor producers.— The question arises as 

 to what period of time the records should cover to justify a de- 

 cision to get rid of a cow. Many factors enter in here. For an old 

 cow a month's record may be sufficient to condemn her; on the 

 other hand, a younger animal should be given a much longer test. 

 A cow may give a very poor yield following an abortion, yet recover 

 her production in a succeeding lactation. Certainly an animal with 

 a good previous record should not be discarded on the basis of her 

 production following an abortion. Again, a cow with a good record 

 may lose a quarter and thus become a poor producer and yet 

 warrant retention in the herd because of the possible value of her 

 calves. The idea which should constantly be borne in mind is to 

 get rid of the lower producers year by year and thus continually 

 raise the standard of the herd, for the higher the production the 

 greater the profit. 



313. Breeding value of cows.— Another big possibility of 

 herd improvement through production records is the knowledge 

 furnished as to breeding value. Obviously, the heifers from the 



