Numbers - Fact or Fqncy? Why all the fuss about numbers in breeding cattle? The argument seems to revolve around the cow and bull INDEXES. The index is a number that indicates the true breeding value of the animal. How the number is interpreted is We bought for less... you can, too! SAVINGS on Ford lawn equipment Save on a FORD Lawn & Garden Tractor FORD • 14 HI hydro; conlrr speec • Optioi or 48- Ford LGT-18H Lawn and Garden Tractor LANCASTER FORD TRACTOR Specializes In Tractors And Related Equipment Tl>e Dairy Business By Newton Bair another matter. The main fear seems to be based on the fact that breeding has been taken over by mathematics. It seems to by-pass the “breeder” with some mysterious power to mix and match a winning com- qUALI|> bination. The “numbers” remove the mystery, and for some it removes the fun. Since the cow index is used as a basis for special matings for potential herd sires, it becomes desirable to own cows with a high index. One of the complaints often heard is that, in a high producing herd, where nearly every cow is producing at the 20,000 pound level, the individual cows may have only an average index. This poses a mystery, and raises questions. Are these high producers not good enough to produce AI bulls, just because they have a low or average index? The answer lies in the com plexity of the mathematics used in the index formula. Most of us are not mathematicians, so the for mula as well as the solution becomes a mystery. We would rather take our chances on mating our favorite bull to the highest producer in the herd. Isn’t that the way Grandpa did it? Isn’t that the way Ivanhoe, OB 1 LANCASTER FORD TRACTOR, INC. 1655 Rohrerstown Road, Lancaster, PA ir- Flory Mill Exit off Rt 283 ißßfc (717) 569-7063 Lb Your Lancaster County Reliables |DDU| Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 14,1986>A35 Elevation, and most of the other big name bulls were bred? Some smart breeder hit on the right mix, and it clicked to produce a great bull. But remember that even these great sires would be considered mediocre by today’s standards. The point is, the figures don’t he. Within the last 10 years, the real genetic progress is so obvious that you don’t need glasses to see it. Take a casual glance at the production records that are broken every day. Compare your herds production record to ten years ago. How many 20,000 pound cows could you find in your own or your neighbors herd 10 years back? Look at the DHIA listings, and draw the conclusion that something dramatic has hap pened. Allowing some credit for better feeding and management, that minor miracle boils down to numbers. Feed and management can only go as far as genetic ability will allow it. The Stormor ezee-dry Crain Drying System. 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Sure, liars can figure, and there has been some of that kind of juggling done in order to get higher indexes. Cases are well documented, and only need to be publicized to warn the unwary. But the great majority of breeders are honest, and the Co-op Bull stud managers are un-biased in their decisions. So, in most cases we can trust the “numbers.” The real proof is in the results that we see every day, in the unbiased bull proofs published indexes used to select matings. Are you still suspicious of “numbers” and formulas? They have always been mistrusted by those who do not understand them. Even PI, the magic number without which we could not calculate the area of a circle, was mistrusted when first discovered. Who of us really understands E=MC squared? But we know that it harnessed the Atom, and helped get us to the Moon. The formula that calculates cow indexes is even more complex than either of those, but has produced just as remarkable results. As a breeder of cattle, or as a producer of milk, it behooves us to try to understand the numbers that are serving us well. And if we can’t really understand them any more than we understand PI, perhaps we can leam to trust them because they really work. Opened butter should be kept in a covered dish and refrigerated in the butter compartment. Unopened butter may be kept on the refrigerator shelf at 40°F or lower for several weeks. Butter keeps well six to nine months at O°F or lower. Each package should be over-wrapped in foil or plastic film. Post, Efficient, Dependable.
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