Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1919-11-06
GOOD BULLS ARE
HERD BUILDERS
COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION rs
BEST MEANS THRU WHICH TO
PROCURE EXCELLENT slREs. 3
PROFITABLE TO DMRYMEN
Wilson and Bedford Counties First In
State To Have Mutual Creamery and
Better Male OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
Gives Details.

(By @. A. Hutton, Dairy Husbandry
Specialist, Division Of Agricultural
Extension, University of Tennessee.)
One of the most important factors
In the Improvement of the dairy cattle
Of county or a community is the
kind of bulls used. Most farmers now
realize the value of using good sires,
but often the cost of owning one for
q small herd is SO high in proportion
to the number of cows to be used that
the farmer feels that he can not invest
enough money to secure a high-claSs
purebred bull. If he has some neigh
borS who also are interested in build
ing up good herd from the few cows
that they own, the most effective way
for all of them is by cooperative own
ership of a sire of the best dairy quail
tiles. If there are as many as three
such communities in county or with
In reasonable distance of each other,
the best means to an end is the CO.
operative bull association.
In such an association an assessment
is prorated among members in proper
ton to the number of cows each man
owns. This cost rarely exceeds $40
per COW. The bulls are then bought
by the directors of the association, and
one animal is placed in each block or
community, where he stays two years.
At the end of this time each Is adj
vanced one block to prevent in-breed-
ing. Number one goes to two, two to
three, and so on until the highest Is
reached, and it progresses to number
one. Keeper Of the bull In each block
usually is paid small fee which re-
iInburses him for the upkeep Of the
animal. This rarely exceeds 81 per
COW for each year..
In selecting bulls for cooperative
bull association, the prime considera-
ton is, will their daughters be better
producers than the dams of the daugh-
ters2 In other words, will the calves
of which they are sires be better pro-
ducers than the mothers2
Thus they must not only be good
individuals, but they must be from
high-producing family. One of the
chief requirements Is that the dams
Of such bulls must have a register of
merit record of not less than 500
pounds Of butter-fnt in year as ma
ture COW, or proportionate amount
II the record was made when the COW
was under five years Of age. 1t Is also
desirable to have the bulls from cows
that have a large number Of daughters
in the register Of merit, and to have
q great percentage Of the ancestry for
at least four generations In the register
Of merit. With these requirements full
filed, how can the bulls be selected
keep from improving the qualities Of
the future dairy cows Of the COM
munity?
In practice the actual cost to own
such bulls comparatively is but little,
IL any, more than the combined cost
Of the ordinary bulls replaced by them.
A bull for the association would cost
about $500, and would replace from
four to Ave ordinary purebreds, or per-
haps grade bulls, worth on the beef
market about $lOO eacn.
The cooperative bull association is
not an experiment 1t has been sue
cessful in a number of states for sew
eral years. Tennessee has (September,
1919 two cooperative bull associa
tions-one in Wilson and one in Bed
ford county-and several others in
process of formation. Each of these
counties has cooperative creamery
and cooperative cow-testing asso-
citation. They enjoy the distinction Of
being the first in the South to have all
three of these mutual organizations.
The Wilson county unit has eight
blocks, and is one of the largest In the
United States. All Of the eight excel
lent sires owned by that organization
are related to "Sybirs Gamboge,"
$50 900 animal.
The cooperative bull association is
a two-edged sword. 1t cuts high and
reaches the well-to-do-those who have
good bulls, but want better ones at the
least cost. 1t also reaches out to the
little man, or the small dairyman, who
feels that he can not afford to own a
real good bull owing to excessive cost.
Ii affords him an opportunity to breed