The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1920-06-10
BULL ASSOCIATION
How They Work Out in
Practice Helpful to Large
as Well as Small Breeders.

Clemson College More
and more the usefulness Of the CO.
operative bull associations is recoS-
nized Is Hme goes on and Its oene-
hets to the dairy industry have
chance to become evident. The full
results that can be obtained from
such an association obviously can not
appear for several years. 1t il svi-
dent therefore that since the bull as
sociations arc Of only recent begin
ming, the benefits so far obtained are
only tho fore-shadowing OF greater
things to come.
The cooperative bull association
has been carefully planned to enable
4 number Of small dairymen and far
mers who individually could not al
ford GOOD bulls, to combine their 70
sources and buy few really good
dairy sires. For example, suppose
four farmers each have 500 to invest
in . bull They are 50 situated that
they can all use the same bull. The
association makes it possible for them
to pool their resources and buy one
$500 bull, presumably four times as
rood az any one Of the four 500 AMI
mails that they could buy individually.
II IL gratifying to see that this theory
Ia working out in practice so well that
Il applies not only to the dairynen
with 500 available for investment IN
a bull but equally we'll to tho one
with only SO, or on the other hand
to the one with $500.
Saves the Good Bulls.
The money advantage Is the first
thing which attracts the farmers AZ
tsneaon to tho bull association, but BY
Tar tho greatest advantage Of the or
sanization Is the exchange OF bulls
every two years BY means Of which
continued use Of bulls can be had un-
I'll their value Is proved. Statistical
Arures indicate that bulls owned BY
individuals are used only to an aver
are age Of about three years. At this
are Il 10 impossible to have any pro
duotion records Of the offspring,
which IL the only real test Of sire's
value. Because Of this short life OF
tho bull 1t happens over and over
again that dairy farmers have DIS
covered, after the daughters had Nm
i,hed a record. the exceptional pre-
potent qualities Of their sire; and
then, On looking around for that sire.
hxva made another discovery. q sad
one. that the search was futile. for
the sire had gone to the butcher.
Beneficial to Family Cow Owners.
The average herd Of all the mem.
bers Of these associations consists q
six cows. Inasmuch as there are
naly herds with ten or . dozen cows,
Il follows that there must be great
number Of herds with less than six
cows each. N fact town people own
tng family cows are often members.
paying their share or assessment OF
Ave. ton, or whatever number OF dol
lars 10 required for each COW; and
for this payment they have the use or
all the bulls IN the association. Thus
q family COW owner may for . ~ in
yestnent have for . period q 10 years
the use q such bulls a freely AZ
thourh hs owned them himself.
Lsads - Keeping Pursbrsd Cows.
The claim Is made IN behaK Of ne
bull association as an institution that
It opens up IN opportunity for the
small dslrymaa to DO pure breeding.
The figures gathered in the 1919 d.
rectory Of bull associations show that
while the number q organizations.
the number Of nSuI6ers, ete., have
increased les than n Ief cent -
esnpared With 1915. the Increase in
number Of pursbrsd cows owned BY
members went up 40 per cent. show
ius plainly that the buN association
does help the small breeder to %
Durs breeding.
No Chance - Less.
We have still to get the Arst no
port from a farmer to the effect that
he has lost money on his Investment
IN 6 cooperative buh association. says
J. p. Lancaster. Extension Service
dairy husbandman. The greatest loss
that can be sustained from 4 disband-
ei association Is that the wrong inn
preston which the community and
other communities may receive may
prevent them from organising other
associations Of the same kind. For
this reason. we are anxious to see AL
associations organized on the right
basis and properly looked after. 50
that none Of them viii diseand.
Suggestions for suseass.
The principal points to keep n
mind for building successful asso-
siation are - follows:
1. Have the blocks we'll organized,
principally with reference to satisiac'
t~y locstion Of members and Ne
~ h,,N