The Relation of Season of Freshening to Milk Production

In an effort to determine the relation of season of freshening to milk production, a study was made of 22.212 Dairy Herd Improvement Association lactation records.These records were obtained in Connecticut during the years 1924 through 1945, althouo'h the majority of them were obtained in the later years of this period. EXPERIMENTALThe amount of milk produced by cows freshening in each month had been computed by the University Dairy Department for the 305 days following the date of freshening.In many instances the cows were dry before this period of time had elapsed and in such cases the production covered a shorter milking period.Data for each breed were tabulated separately.The breed distribution was 9,325 Guernseys, 8.260 Holsteins.2,344 Ayrshires, and 2,283 Jerseys.The lactation records were sorted not only by breed but also by the age of the cows at time of freshening.Two-year-olds accounted for 22 per cent of the total number of records, 3-year-olds for 21 per cent, and 4-year-olds for ]6 per cent.Milk yields were used as reported and were not adjusted to a common butterfat test. 1