The times-herald. [volume] (Burns, Harney County, Or.) 1896-1929, 1920-04-10
EFFICIENCY MOST
VITAL NEED OF
DAIRY INDUSTRY

Efnciency--more production per
COW aud more economy In production
to match the high land values and
cost OF labor and equipment and cost
OF feeds the most vital need OF the
dairy industry today.
The average production OF the av-
erage COW expressed In terms OF milk
aud butter fat cannot be called good.
In fact Il Is poor--and what man
likes to conduct poor business'
Dairymeu may be divided into
three classes who fail and
eventually go out OF the business.
those who eke .outsa bare existence.
and those who succeed.
Invariably the success or the pro-
gresslve dairyman is dependent on
the quality of his cows. lie climbs
to freedom from financial worry over
the backs of high producing cows.
lie knows that high milk producing
ability is an inherited character and
that he must carefully select his
breeding stock TO the end that all
animals born In his herd possess that
ability.
The greatest aid In creating efiic-
iency In the dairy herd is the dairy
sire with strong milk producing In
heritance. Such sire adds TO the
milk producing ability OF the future
herd.
A poor sire gets his own kind and
decreased production. An increase
in milk production decreases costs
while a decrease In production In
creases costs.
Since the milk producing ability
. OF the future herd IL dependent upon
the sire. great care should be used IN
his selection. lie may be selected BY
one OF two methods:
/ Select sire that has already
demonstrated his value through the
milking quality OF his hcifers. Such
sire will transmit the same good
qualities as long as he lives. Proven
sires unfortunately are not plentiful
for the majority are slaughtered
while still young.
2. Select BY pedigree or ancestry.
A bull inherits the milking qualitieI
of the cows that contributed To his
inheritance and passes these same
qualities on to his heifers. His
heifcrs resemble his ancestors. which
makes n careful examination OF these
ancestors and their milk record nee
essary To the Improvement OF the
future herd.
Gallons law In breeding shows
that an animal receives SO per cent
Of its characteristics from It's i'm
mediate parents. 25 per cent from its
yrandf arants and the remaining 25
per cent from the earlier generation.
This makes Il necessary that a bull
be selected from closely related an
imais OF proven high milk producing
and transmitting qualities.
Select from an ancestry that Is
uniformly good producers rather
than from one that has one sensa-
tlonal animal with the Others OF or
dlnary quality.
a good sire will often increase
butter fat production In his heifers
100 pounds OF fat above that OF their
dams In herd OF 20 cows giving
10 heifer calves the butter fat yield
would thus be increased 1000 pounds
above that OF their class when these
heifers come into milk. This q so
cents per pound gives $500 addition
al income the first year.
This would be duplicated the next
and succeeding years and there
would also be other heifers coming
into milk making possible the raplac-
Ing OF the entire original herd with
better cows. Many Oregon bulls arc
now demonstrating their value In the
herds of their owners. but there is
room FOR many. many more In the
herds OF the 10000 dairymen Of our
state. The average yearly produc-
tion OF the Oregon COW Is probably
not far from 200 pounds OF fat. By
following good breeding practice
this average yield could be doubled
within few years.
The cost OF good sire should
deter no dairyman from securing the