298 Illinois State Dairymen's Association. 



SOME NOTES ON CO-OPERATIVE COW TESTING IN DENMARK 



AND SWEDEN. 



The first co-operative cow testing association (record asso- 

 ciation control association) was organized January 23rd, 1895, 

 at a meeting called for that purpose on the farm of Soren 

 Peter Knudsen, Lillie Skovgaard, Vejen, Denmark. The 

 initiative was given by Mrs Anne Hansen, Askov, whose hus- 

 band, Statsconsulent Frederik Hansen, for several years had 

 tested the fat content of milk given by the different cows 

 in his herd. It was done in this way that samples of the 

 individual cow's milk were sent to the creamery for testing. It 

 was when the farmers of that community had begun to realize 

 w^hat benefits Frederik Hansen received from such records that 

 Mrs. Hansen suggested that Mr. Hansen and his neighbors 

 should organize themselves into an association for the purpose of 

 investigation and recording of the feeding, as well as the milk 

 and butter fat yield of individual cows in the herds, and with 

 those records as basis, to make the dairy industry more remuner- 

 ative and to w^ork toward the development of a strain of cows 

 which would produce a large quantity of milk rich in butter fat. 



The association commenced active operations May 1, 1895, 

 with 12 members, and this number has been steadily increased 

 so that the association now^' numbers 24 members, with a total 

 of 522 cows, and it has become necessary to employ two men to 

 do the testing and compiling of the records. 



Later the same year another association was organized and 

 since then new associations have been organized so fast that 

 Denmark now has over 400 associations in operation. The 

 degree in which the Danish farmer supported* the movement 

 can best be realized when we learn that in area Denmark is only 

 one-fourth the size of the state of Michigan. 



The following table shows the growth of the movement in 

 Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany and Finland: 



