The Record-courier. [volume] (Gardnerville, Nev.) 1904-current, 1922-01-06
HOW SUCCESS CAME FROM
TESTING DAIRY HERD

lnasmucn as an endeaY0r Is being
made to improve the dairy herds of
Carson Valley, the following success
Of Marin county man will be of
interest to those in this locality that
are engaged in the work:
Frank Bresciani, Marin county dairy
man, joined the cow testing associa-
ton last fall and got the full idea OF
what 1t means to test and what bene-
fits may be derived from testing.
When he began to test his cows for
production he was the only one in his
neighborhood who undertook the
work In years gone by he had heard
of tsting and thought there was moth
ingto it. Last fall he was sold the
idea. A little later he began feeding
his cows better. since he found the
testing service gave him that informa-
ion. Upon observing his testing
records he found that some cows re-
sponded to his better feeding while
others APPARENTLY did not pay for it.
He noticed that the cows which did
not produce more milk put feed on
their backs. Their natural instinct
was beef production rather than milk
production. Being a dairyman and
using his cows for milk production Mr..
Bresciani got rid of a number of cows
which did not respond to better feed
ing.
During 1929 Mr.. Beresciani milked
123 cows. He sold 1872 pounds Of
butterfat, low average per COW but
as good as many dairymen In the
county are doing. After testing he
weeded out his poor cows, began feed
ing better and from January l, 1921,
to June 80. 1921, he sold 1897 pounds
of butterfat, not from 1923 cows but
from 107 cows, not in IL months but
in 6 months.
In May of this year Mr.. Beresciani
erected silo. He filled 1t with clover
and grasses which had grown during
the winter. He began feeding 1t in
June. His cows picked up in condi-
tion and produced we'll. He fed less
grain than he fed before he had silage,
but he got more milk and butterfat.
During June, July, August, and Sep
tember. Mr.. Bresciani produced 1888
pounds more butterfat than he pro-
duced during the same period last
ThiC will M fnr
first silo. Since that time the second
silo has been erected and both filled
with corn and sunflowers. Between
the time the first silo was emptied and
the two or three days before the sec
ond was filled Mr.. Beresciani had no
silage for his cows. They Immediate
ly fell of in milk production with the
result that the corn and sunflowers
we're fed right out of the silo before
they had time to cure. This fall his
cows are freshning in fine condition.
Cows which produced 30 pounds of
butterfiat last fall now produce 40
pounds. He states he was actually
feeding % per cent less concentrates
than he was feeding last year at this
time, and his cows are producing
much more heavily. 1t is safe to pre-
dict that at this rate he will produce
ten thousand pounds more butterfat
this year from 16 less cows than he
did last year.
The striking thing about this ex-
ample is that there are many dairy
men who think they can not do as
well. There are few dairymen but
who can duplicate this example and
the fact that 1t has been done by Mr..
Beresciani, who has an average herd,
and was handling it under average
conditions, goes to show that the
same results may be achieved by
dairymen of Carson Valley.
Clark County is setting an example