Types and Market Classes of Live Stock 197 



records of the amount of milk and butter-fat produced by each cow. 

 Such records not only reveal the producing ability of each cow, but 

 they also enable the breeder to determine which bulls sire the best 

 daughters and which cows produce the best daughters. The calves 

 produced by the best sires and dams are retained for use in improving 

 the herd. The calves sold from the herd are priced largely according 

 to the records of their dams and grandams, and according to the known 

 or proven ability of their sires and grandsires. Marked improvement 

 in purebred dairy cattle has resulted from keeping accurate records of 

 production. 



Many dairymen owning grade herds and engaged in the production 

 of market milk and butter-fat have observed the benefits derived from 

 keeping records and have adopted the methods of progressive breeders 

 of purebred dairy cattle as the means of improving their own herds. 



Success in dairying requires (1) the use of good, purebred dairy 

 bulls and (2) the keeping of accurate records of the milk and butter-fat 

 produced and of the feed consumed by each cow in the herd. Dairymen 

 who are members of cow-testing associations have these records kept 

 for them at small expense, and the cooperative bull association enables 

 even the smallest dairyman to breed his cows to good, purebred sires. 



A cow-testing association is a farmers' organization which employs 

 a tester who visits each farm once a month, weighs, samples, and tests 

 the milk of each cow, and weighs jier feed. He then computes the 

 monthly milk and butter-fat production and cost of feed for each cow 

 in the herd. Monthly records computed in this way have been found 

 to be very closely accurate. Such records are valuable not only for 

 weeding out unprofitable cows, but they establish beyond all doubt 

 the value of the herd sires by disclosing the ability of the daughters 

 in comparison to the ability of their dams. The first cow-testing 

 association in the United States was the Newaygo County (Michigan) 

 Association, organized in 1905. On July 1, 1922, there were 513 such 

 associations active in 38 states, and including a total of 12,508 herds 

 and 216,875 cows. Wisconsin was far in the lead with 127 associa- 

 tions, including 3,517 herds and 61,489 cows. ^ 



A cooperative bull association is an organization of farmers for 

 the joint ownership, use, and exchange of good purebred bulls. Such 

 organizations accomplish two important purposes: 1. Good pure- 

 bred bulls are made readily available to the small dairyman at small 

 cost. 2. The good purebred dairy sire is kept in service in the com- 

 munity and is used to his full capacity. Too frequently good bulls 

 are sent to the butcher because they cannot be used more than two 



HI. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Anim. Indus., Dairy Div., Directory of Cow-Testing 

 Associations in the United States, Active July 1, 1922. 



