Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1917-05-02
Agricultural Department

The greatest and most permanent
progress in dairying is made In those
communities where the men who are
behind the industry appreciate the
value Of pure breeding in dairy cat
tie.
The use Of the scrub and the grade
sire is undoubtedly the source Of dis
enlargement and financial loss to
hundreds and thousands Of men who
might have developed into progress
| that the foundation of the dairy in
dustry Is the dairy COW, and that her
ability to utilize farm crops and con-
vert them into milk and butter-fat
is dependent upon the breeding Of her
ancestry.
The dairy cow is the product of
hundreds Of years Of careful selec-
ton and intelligent breeding. No man
can continue in the dairy business
successfully if he does not improve
the quality of his herd by the use of
pure-bred bulls; bulls whose ances-
try shows that for at least six gen.
erations there has been a constant
and increasing tendency to produce
more milk and butter-fat.
A dairy bull differs from beef bull
in the purpose for which he has been
bred. The aim of breeders of dairy
cattle has been to increase the pro-
duction of milk and butter-fat among
the individuls of the various breeds.
To obtain this, form or type of the
animal had to be changed and made
to correspond to the work the ami
NAL had to do. The reason why we
have the dairy type so well estab-
lished is because we have found more
profitable milk production to accom-
pany that type.
The dairyman, then, who expects
to milk cows and raise his heifer cal
yes, and thereby maintain his dairy
herd, must have dairy bull--one
whose type has been established and
one which has been bred for milk
production for hundreds of years.
Oftentimes men select a calf and
save him for bull because his dam
was good milk cow and pay no at
tention to the breeding on the sire's
and accounts for little progress in
improving the dairy herd. Even
though the dam is fairly good cow,
she is not able to impress the func-
ton of giving milk upon the calf
strongly enough so that he, in turn,
can transmit it to his progeny for the
reason that milk production is a char
acter by itself and comes to an ami
NAL only through line of breeding
for that purpose.
Avoid using a grade bull, or one
with a scrub for one parent and a
pure-bred for the other. Little pro-
gress can be made in this way.
The purchase of pure-bred bull by
small farmer entails an expense
that is oftentimes not justifiable, but
several men can cooperate and or
ganize a Bull Association.
A bull association is an organiza-
ton maintained by farmers for the
purchase, use and interchange of
bulls. The farmers in such an or
ganization should own collectively
about 200 cows.
The community should be so div
ided that the cows are evenly ristri-
buted into groups or blocks with fifty
cows in each block and a pure-bred
bull, representing the breed chosen,
placed with each block.
The bull can be retained in block
for a period of two years, when an
interchange is made; bull from block
one going to block two; bull from
block two to block three; bull from
block three to block four, and the bull
from block four to block one.
This interchange of bulls provides
that each breeder in the association
can have the continued use of pure
bred bulls during a period of eight
years for the small sum of $25 to $50.
A service fee of $1.00 per cow
should be maintained, in order to de-
fray the expenses of the association,
and also to provide sinking fund
to be used in an emergency, as may
arise when bull dies or becomes
injured.