The Churchill county standard. (Fallon, Nev.) 1908-1920, 1916-10-04
COOPERATIVE COW TESTING
ASSOCIATIONS FOR PROJECT
Five Hundred and Ten Cows Ont of
the Necessary Six Hundred Have
Been Assured.


alton is an important adjunct in ev-
cry progressive dairy community
Since dairying is the principal indus
try outside of alfalfa growing in this
locality. it IS only reasonable to ex-
pect that COW testing association
viii be established here sooner or
later. The monthly income from
aairy products here is about $500.
Il is reasonable to expect that with
the newness of the industry here that
the above gross income for butter
lat represents the product of large
proportion of cows that pay very
small profit Results of COW testing
| associations all ever the country
! have demonstrated these facts.
1t has been found in many in
stances that the number of cows in
some herds could be materially re-
dueed and the same net profit from
the herd secured. or in other words
only q part of the number in the
herds were really producing the net
profit, while the rest of the aniamls
were simply taking up room and
consuming feed and barely paying
for tie cost of keep.
There is nothing more discourag-
ng than TO be Obliged to milk and
iced cows day after day with only
meager net return. Until recently
only a few dairymen in this loeali-
ty have heen in the position to prof
it from the results of COW testing
association. The original herds that
we're established here were secured
~ considerable sacrifice and In most
instances improbable animals
though detected could not be dis
posed Of because of overhanging OBJ
legations and because they were
needed as q nucleus with which to
develop future herds. Conditions,
however, are fast changing. With
the aid of good bulls, promising
young dairy animals are everywhere
in evidence. and most of the dairy
men feel more free to Gull out I'M
profitable COWS.
The only sure way of determining
the profitable animals in q dairy
herd is by weighing the milk pro-
dueed and by testing the milk for
percentage OF butter fat Many
dairymen seem content to test the
milk for butter fat This will only
tell half the story, because a low
testing COW may easily be more
profitable than a high testing COW
and vice versa, depending on the
amount of milk produced. Another
error that is often praetieed is the
testing of milk OF an animal once
The percentage of butter fat in
cows milk may vary from night to
morning and from one day to an-
other and the percentage of butter
fat does not seem to have any reia-
Ton to the amount of milk produced
in any one COW.
For the foregoing reasons it is OBJ
yious that weighing and testing a
cows milk at regular intervals is the
only correct method of determining
the value of any COW as a producer.
The cooperative COW testing associ-
alton which Mr.. V. E. Scott of the
University of Nevada is assisting the
dairymen here to organize, will de-
termine the profitableness or un-
profitableness of every dairy animal
in the association.
The plan OF all cow testing assoc
iations is TO employ competent man
to visit the farm of each member of
the association one day out of each
month and weigh and test the milk
of each COW entered and estimate
therefrom the production of each
COW for the month. This produc-
ton, times the average price of but
ter fat for the month gives the val
ne of the cows production for each
month From these figures and an
estimate of the feed cost for a year
the net returns from each COW for a
year can be easily determined.
The cost of carrying on the work
of a cooperative COW testing associ-
alton can be easily provided for at
an expense of Y cents per month
per COW providing 600 COWS are en-
tered. The plan is to charge each
dairyman according to the number
of COWS entered each month. The
details. however, will be worked out
at time of organization.
The two California breeders who
carried off large part of the prem
ium money at our last State fair are
both members of COW testing assool-
ations and both expressed them
selves as being greatly benefited by
results. A business man is not con-
tent to guess at the profitableness of
any department Of his work. Why
should the dairyman be content to
guess at the net returns of any or of
all of his dairy animals.
All dairymen who are interested
In the cooperative tetsing association
and who have not yet Joined may
consult with Mr.. We. Scott, who will
be here this week, or l.. g. Cline.
l.. Il. Cline.