Managing the Dairy Herd 71 



How to Grade Up Herds. 



The most satisfactory method of grading up a herd 

 is that of using a pure-bred sire with the cows now in 

 your herd. 



This sire should be selected very carefully. 



Best results are found to be obtained from the sons 

 of heavy-milking dams. One of the best tests for 

 such a sire is the fact that he is already credited with 

 the production of heavy-milking offspring. 



The finest bred bull, if young, is always more or less 

 of a gamble. He may produce splendid milking off- 

 spring, but again he may not. Pedigree does not alone 

 assure that. Judge him by his products. However, 

 a properly pedigreed animal is usually to be relied 

 upon in this respect. 



One good rule to follow is not to dispose of a satis- 

 factory bull until you have found a superior bull to 

 take his place. Judge that superiority solely by the 

 fact that the new bull has produced offspring of greater 

 milk-producing capacity. 



The only way on earth that you will ever be able 

 to grade up your herd is to use a pure-bred sire. Ex- 

 perts do not recommend grade sires. Their help in 

 grading up the herd is not certain, nor is it rapid. 

 Grade sires quite frequently transmit to their offspring 

 some of the undesirable qualities inherited from their 

 low-grade ancestors. Sometimes this not only retards 

 the progress of the grade of your herd, but actually 

 sets it back. 



Any farmer using a pure-bred sire can reasonably 

 expect that each succeeding generation of grade heifers 

 will produce more heavily than their dams. 



Don't guess on this point. Keep a record of each 



