104 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



Though the cost of feed and care for the bull is apportioned 

 among the members, the bulls are purchased and owned by 

 the entire association. 



Such organizations not only make it possible to purch- 

 ase better bulls but also to use these good bulls much more 

 extensively than they have been used in private ownership 

 and to keep them as long as they are fit for service. 



Certainly every cow-testing association might well con- 

 sider the idea of organizing within itself a bull association. 

 With equal force it may be said that every bull association 

 should organize into an up-to-date cow-testing association, 

 if possible. The cow-testing association herds need better 

 breeding, and the bull-association herds need testing. These 

 two associations working together can soon lift all our dairy 

 herds to a higher level of production. 



Bull-Association Blocks 



A typical bull association consists of ^ve blocks, each 

 containing one or more herds. At least one bull is assigned 

 to each block. In order to prevent inbreeding each bull is 

 advanced to the next block in the circuit at the end of 

 every two-year period. 



In the well-managed bull association the cows with 

 which the bulls are mated should be tested for production 



In the well-managed bull association the cows 

 with which the bulls are mated should be tested 

 for production and their records kept on file to 

 be compared later with the production records of 

 the daughters. As soon as the daughters freshen 

 their production records are kept, and as their lactation 

 period advances the record of each is compared with the 

 production record of the dam. Even if there is no cow- 

 testing association to do the testing, the owner of the herd 

 may keep a private record of the feed cost and production 

 of each cow in his herd. 



As soon as enough dam and daughter records have 

 been obtained and compared, the association decides which 

 bulls shall be kept and which shall be sent to the butch-er. 



