Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-11-19
Milk Yield and Butter
Breeding for an Increase

Ia SSuAAAh AVA SkAA 4ASSA NeSJS
Orono. Me-. Nov. 1S.-Dr. John w.
Gowen of the Maine Agricultural Elk
pertinent Station spoke before the
Maine State Dairymen's meetings to-
day.
Analytically speaking milk produc-
ton may be increased by better feed
ing and care Of our dairy stock, he
said, by the keeping OF careful milk
records on our cattle and eliminating
those which are poor producers and
! thirdly by the breeding of better pro-
ducing stock.
1t has been shown. many times,
that if COW is poorly fed and housed
she is not giving her maximum milk
flow. This poor feeding will not only
reduce her milk flow for the succeed
ing year it will also materially reduce
her flow in later periods Of lacta-
ton. The effect Of such poor treat
ment may amount to as much as a
Is per cent. reduction in the milk
yield Of the COW from what she would
have done under more favorable con-
ditions. Thus for the complete ex-
preston, in pounds Of milk in the
pail, Of the cows possibilities as a
milk producer she must be fed and
housed properly. The butter-fat per-
centage found in a cows milk is not
so much affected by the feeding and
housing, in fact is seems to depend
on what the COW has for heredity OF
butter-fat percentage.
All of you are familiar with the
fact that even under the same hous-
ing and feeding cows vary greatly in
their milk yield. Few are familiar
with what may be accomplished If
the cows in the herd arc culled and
only those retained whose milk yield
is high. To illustrate in a herd Of
pure bred Jerseys numbering about
500 animals. where no selection CT
mixers to be retained in the herd on
the basis of their. two year old record
was practiced, find that if the low
est producing IS per cent. Of the cows
were culled on the basis Of these rec
ords that the average yearly produc-
ton of the remaining herd would be
increased over 400 pounds and that
this increased production would be
permanent for the herd. Similarly
for butter fat percentage. if the %
per cent. which tested lowest were
culled from the herd the average Lut-
ter-fat percentage of the rest would
be increased IS per cent and the in
crease would remain permanent for
the herd. -.t ..-
But these measures to increase. milk
production and buttcr-fat percentage
cost money. We have to grow our
cattle to milk producing age before
they can be culled. The place to elin-
mate this loss is at the start before
the cows are born. This necessitates
breeding better stock and before we
can consciously breed better stock
some knowledge must be obtained as
to how milk production and butter
fat percentage are inherited. In 1913,
there was started as part of our an
imal Lusbandry investigation, an ex-
pertinent to determine these facts.
This experiment is now yielding some
very significant results. These re-
suits show that milk production is
transmitted to COW by both her sire
and her dam. The parents OF the
dairy cow are consequently jointly
responsible for the cows subsequent.
milk yield. In the same manner these
results show that the sire and dam
are jointly responsible for the butter
fat percentage which the cow is able
to produce in her milk" The speaker