The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1917-02-26
TESTING DAIRY COWS.
Increased Profits as Result Of Cooper
alive Work.

Increases of from $40 to $15 and in
some cases much higher in the annual
profits from each dairy COW have re-
suited from the organization of cooper
ative contrasting associations III the
United States, according to statistics
gathered bv the Dairy Division of the
United States Department of Agricul-
ture. The expense of membership IN
these associations, on the other hand,
has been only about $50 per cow per
year. The organizations therefore have
been very profitable.
Because of the great and obvious
economic advantages arising from the
associations dairy specialists of the de-
partment believe that the organizations
are one of the most important factors
for the upbuilding and development OF
the dairy industry in this country.
Such an organization consists general
ly of % farmers, living within radius
Of a few miles, who cooperate to hire
an expert tester to keep accurate ac-
counts of the amounts and cost of
feed consumed BY each COW in the as
ISOLATION, the quantity of milk produced
by each and its richness in butter fat.
These statistics usually reveal the fact
that some cows are not producing
enough to pay for their keep, while
others are highly profitable. Acting on
this information the owner of the cows
disposes of the least desirable of his
animals and makes up his herd exclu-
sivelv of those that produce con
siderable profit
The membership of the association is
! placed at % se that the tester can
make a complete round each month,
4 devoting ono work day to each member,
and that he may keep his records on a
monthly basis. 1t has been found by
careful! experiments that the averages
based on monthly tests do not vary
more than ? per cent from the produc-
tion, as shown by daily observations.
Since the tester IS an expert and can
make the necessary tests and computa-
/ tions rapidly, and since he can be de
pended on to make his observations
4 independently Of pressure of work on
4 the individual farm, the owners of
dairy cows find it cheaper and more
satisfactory III many cases to have their
1 testing done through the association
than to undertake TO do it themselves
There are now nearly $50 COW testing
associations in the United States, 49,
having been added during the last
year. These associations have an az
gregate membership Of $500 farmers
owning approximately 100000 cows
The cow testing association originated
in Denmark in lS95 and the first of tht
organizations in this country was
formed in Michigan in 1906. Because
Of the value Of the associations to tbs
dairy industry of the country the Unit
ed States Department Of Agriculture is
stimulating interest III them and is as
sisting farmers in their organization
Another and somewhat similar line
of cooperative work which is being
encouraged by the department for thC
Improvement OF dairying and cattl,
raising is the formation of bull associa
tons The function of these organiza
tons Is to make available, at Sigh
expense, the services of purebred bull
for the herds Of the associated farmers
1t has been found that often the tota
value of the scrub bulls owned by
farmers is sufficient to supply through
bull association pure-bred bulls 70
the herds Of all. \ number O
.H'tlocks' of the association member
arc formed and a pure-bred bull place
in each. The bulls are shifted ever,
TWO years 10 prevent lHnFeeuiug
a considerable proportion of tn
nearly % million cows in the United
States are too inferior to produce prof
itablv. Where the bull association
have been formed the grade of tn
stock has been raised appreciably
Dairy specialists Of the department be
licve that these associations will be Al
important factor in increasing the quail
ity Of dairr cattle throughout the eoun
try.