Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1916-11-21
Advanced Registry Explained.
ITS BENEFITS, AND THOSE FROM PURE
BRED BREEDING.

An animal 20 De pure-ored and eligible
to registry must have both sire and dan
recorded in that association. Thi,
| breeding is what has advanced the bet
terment of different breeds of stock; es
pecially so is this true of the dairy
breeds.
Advanced registry (ARO) oficia
means the official testing of cows by q
supervisor appointed by state college
| 10 supervise the milking out of the ami
mails before commencing the test and
each milking thereafter until the end OF
the test, weighing aud taking a sample
of each. These are tested each day by
Babcock test to ascertain its fat content,
which is then computed by the amour,
of milk given. This record when COM
pleted is then reported to the state col
lege by the supervisor, and by it to the
advanced registry association of the
breed to which the animal belongs. If
she has made requirements, an advanced
registry certificate is then issued to the
owner stating the number of pounds OF
milk and butterfat given, together with
her age at time of making.
As stated above an animal to be pure
bred must have her dam and sire record
ed in the herd book of the association.
"a we'll as recorded there herself or him
self, as the case may be. In most cases
the animal must be recorded in order to
be eligible to the advanced registry ssso-
citation. In fact, the advanced registry
is herd book within herd book, and
is for the improvement of the dairy
breed, each association making its own
requirem ents and restr ctions.
Semiotficisl or yearly testing is the
only testing recognized by some of the
different breed associations. Also most
of them require that COW shall calve
inside of given period after completing
her test. A semiofficial test is based up
on a regular official test by supervisor
appointed BY state college for at least
two days of each month and reported as
in a regular official test.
/ am often asked, where does a breed
sr receive any benefit by doing advanced
registry work? In the first place, be
knows exactly what his cows are indi-
viduslly doing and thus aids in raising
the standard of his dairy; also the price
of their progeny, il not the individual
animal. 1t sometimes works the other
way. But by being able to prove to the
satisfaction of the buyer the actual Ca
pacity of cow would ordinarily increase
her selling value.
Another instance where advanced
registry is helping the breeder, and that
is in the selling of the young bulls. As
agriculture has advanced so has dairy
ing. A few years ago the average farm
er didn't appreciate the value of good
bull, or il he did, neglected il, and as
result, lowered the standard OF his dairy
year BY year. To-day he is looking to
the building up of his dairy and is doing
it by buying better bulls one after an
other, requiring better one each time
until many herds are nearly pure. This
condition has made it bsrdsr year after
year for the breeder not doing any ad-
yanced registry work to dispose OF bis
bull calves. Thus the testing OF cows
not only increases the value Of the COW
and the offspring, but makes the sale OF
them easier.
WHAT THE WORK ACCoMPLIsHEs
It has been said that Advanced regis
try has placed the production value oil
cows on a scientific basis, and SUBSTITUTE
ed accuracy for opinion and guesswork
Advanced registry work will be the
cornerstone of all breeding operations In
all the dairy breeds from now on. But
the structural beauty Of the COW will al
ways claim the attention of the construc-
tive breeder. The rewards of success,
both financial and otherwise, will go to
that breeder who is able TO combine
great capacity with beauty Of FORM"
There are many things accomplished by
testing cows. The test not only points
out the poor cows, but the good ones
also. Many cows considered only aver.
age are found TO be the best in the hero
wben real records supersede the guess
system.
Under the guess system, and in the
absence of records, sentiment is strong
factor in selecting the cows worthy oil
being retained in the herd, also the COWS
from which heifers are to be kept. A
cows disposition and temper enter seri-
ously into the matter. With accurate
records such minor things are overlook.
ed in the real producers, and bond oi
friendship develops between the milker
and the producing COW. :,
Persistency of milk flow, the one quail
fication that outranks all others ID
worthy cows, is very difficult to recog-
nize under the guess system, but IL h
easily brought to the owners attention
through the test. The test records are
very valuable in later years as references,
both in feeding and managing the herd.
The test develops better feeders, deeper
thinkers, better dairymen, and better
dairy methods. During the year 1918
the illinois dairy division at the college
kept record of prices which were paid
for animals whose production was estao-
lisbed by official records, and also ior
animals that had no such recommends
ton. In five sales 1S7 cows without
records averaged $2sS per head. In the
same sales III cows having records aver
aged S465 per head. In other words,
the men who kept records were paid just
sl77 per COW for keeping these records.
Naturally, they were official statements
that is, they were records established
and vouched for by the breed associa-
tions. Furthermore, with regard TO the
heifers, 1S4 that came from dams who
had no official records brought an aver
age of 500 per head, while 133 whose
dams had official records brought an
average of s34I per head. Thus In the
offspring that had not yet reached the
milking age the record of the dam was
worth 1882 per COW. :,
The question has often been raised,
does 1t pay to spend the time and the
money necessary TO make record, either
official or otherwise? Il would seem
that the above figures show conclusively
that il does pay. Certainly one can AZ
ford 20 make q yearly record for SIT,
and perchance the cow is producing .
heifer calf. II the two were placed In
the sales ring, the yearly record becomes
worth 500, which isn't very bad show
ipg.
csssity to breeders Of pure-bred dairy
cattle. In order that they may dispose OF
their stock at the highest prices. The
Gov having an Official record, or the call
Sith official records back Of Il, invari-
ably brings higher price than similar
animal Without such backing. The main
object of official testing 10 to enable tne
dairyman to select his breeding stock In
ssllieeutly. The man who 10 buying
GOOD breeding stock to-day wants pro-
duction behind 1t and Is willing to pay
for it.
eve want to see the milk sheet hung