—Lancaster Farming. Saturday. December 3. 1960
16
Does Type Tell?
How Much Will She Produce
Using production records to select dairy breeding
stock is the fastest way to bui d high-producing, money
making herds. Dairy type or physical appearance is val
uable chiefly in eliminating abvious abnorma.ities.
These conclusions come
from a USDA study of re
search results obtained in
the past quarter century.
They show a need for more
emphasis on production rec
ords and less on the traditi
onal score card c.assification.
The study included ana.ys
es of data on Holstein-Fnes
ian, Jersey,- and Ayrshire
catte reported by agricultur
al experiment station work
ers in Wisconsin, West Vir
ginia,' lowa, Illinois, and
Canada. It is part of a larg
er study, now nearing com
pletion, by ARS dairy hus
bandman N. D Bayley *and
associates, to determine the
influence of type on mi k
production, longevity, and
merchandising vane.
The scientists found only
a. s’ight re’ationship between
dairy-type score (Excellent,
Very Good, Good P us, Good
Fair) and production abi'ity.
Many cows with high dairy
type classifications are high
producers at least partly be
cause they get better feed
and care This tends to ex
aggerate type-production re
lationships, especial’y when
evaluations are based on
production averages for
cows in different herds.
Slight Relationship Shown
by Record Check
For examp’e, Ho 1 stein rec
ords showed a difference in
average but'erfat yield of 11-
.4 percent between all cows
rated Excellent and those
rated Good Plus. But a Wis
consin analysis of records of
45,000 Ho'tein cows showed
a difference of only 6.7 per
cent between the Excellent
and Good Plus cows in the
game herd. The lower per
centage ru’ed out feed and
management differences and
more nearly reflects the true
and low relationship be
tween type score and pro
duction.
The analysis also showed
that production cannot be
-■predicted on the basis of
type rating. On the average,
prediction of butterfat miss
es actual production by as
much as 69 pounds. This er
ror is greater than the en
tire difference of 60 pounds
between the lowest (Fair)
and the highest (Excellent)
type cows in the herds stud
ied by Wisconsin workers.
Of the components that
make up a type score, dairy
character appears most close
ly associated with produc
tion. Bayley estimates that
selection on dairy character
alone is about four times as
effective in raising milk
yield as is se'ection on total
type score. Progress Is still
less than half as fast, how
ever, as it is when selection
is based on single lactation
records Used with product
ion records, dairy character
increases breeding progress
by 2 or 3 percent, compared
with only 0 4 of 1 percent
when total type score is
used.
Dairy Character is Difficult
to Describe
A serious drawback to
dairy character as a select
ion tool is difficulty m des
cribing it exact y Many 3ud
ges consider dairy character
as “general appearance for
milkiness,” but their inter
pretations vary widely. The
scientises found greater vari
ation m scores for dairy
character than for any other
type component.
Some traits associated
with a heavy milker—thin,
angular body and full, dis
tended udder—may be the
result rather than cause of
high production Also, well
fed animals tend to show
less of these traits than poor
ly fed anima's with similar
yielding ability. However,
since dairy character does
have some use in estimating
production of lactating cows
without records, an objective
definition is urgently needed.
What do these research
findings mean to commercial
dairymen? Bayley sums up
like this: Dairymen with av
erage- or low-yielding herds
should concentrate on better
management and se ection
on the basis of- production
records. Those who have
built high'y productive herds
through good management
and se ection based on pro
duction records, shqud rec
ognize that if they now de
sire to select for improved
type, they must go slower in
increasing milk and butter
fat production.
Bayley be'ieves that when
dairymen become more a
ware of the slight relation
ship between type and pro
duction, they will give much
less importance to type.
Since 1945, the marketing
margin on food is up 93 per
cent. The farm va'ue of food
has risen on’y 16 percent. -
An Analysis For Every Need
Granular
16-8-8
10-20-20
10-20-10
10-10-10
8-16-16
6-18-18
6-12-12
5-10-10
0-25-25
0-20-0
DON’T DELAY . . . GET THE DETAILS from
your Farm Bureau FIELDMAN or visit your nearest
Farm Bureau Store.
For prompt, courteous servi
Our Ist (of four)
Early Delivery
DISCOUNT Periods
will
SAVE YOU MORE!
_ adjudged grand champion o£ , The Intemationtl’s res
IntnmAflVtUAl the 1960 International Live grand champion steer, a
mieiliaiiwiiai /Stock Exposition. pound Aberdeen-Angus
Grand Champion -The auctioning of Kaye’s g Pennsylvania ll
n . vp-- r -r<% c Champion was replete with vers ity ( was sold for $2 j
Brings .$16,725 gimmicks and fanfare. But pound s buyer was
Chicago— Pretty Kayo Pol- gj *<£££
LT.h XS ’w r “° rd pn< * set to by PeSyl^
high school girl, sod her veteran cattemen attribut- verslty, was bought-for ;
ed the relatlve y moderate 500 by R. T, Scofield, W<
$16,725 with mixed emotions pnce Hercy's weight, we 1 field, N. Y.
She was nappy with the over 1000 and the
pnce but broken hearted absence of spirited bidding
over losing a pet. among several potential buy- Matches should - never
I® gad but I m sad, ers interested in acquiring a carried'- loose -in the pdfck
Kaye said. Her 1,115 pound grand champion for pub.icity -of c'othing-because they n
Hereford, named Hercy, was purposes. - ignite when accidental y
Pulverized
5-10-15 (Tobacco)
3-18-18
0-20-20
0-19-19 (w/borax)
0-15-30
5-10-10
10-5-5 (Lawn)
5-10-5
3-12-6
2-12-12
ice, call
Monheim
MOhawk 5-2468
Quorryville
STerling 6-2128
FARM BUREAU
Fertilizer
★ Guaranteed Free Flowing
★ Pulverized or Granular
★ Delivered in Bags or Bulk-
Spread on your Farm
ornir •
VII |||» LABOR
WniKa .. ; MONEY
Faum Buuteaa
BULK FERTILIZER
SERVICE
,c. COl/i
■£/w bur^ 1
Lancaster
EX 4-0541
New Holland
ELgin 4-2146
sei
li
nj
16]