Welcome back to my blog! I hope that you’re all prepared to learn more about the dairy industry!
This semester, I’m taking AN SC 225, which is a one credit class entitled “Introduction to Dairy Judging.” I’ve been judging cows since I was 10 years old and I absolutely love it, so I am really psyched about this class. Because I would like to share my enthusiasm with all of you, my next several posts are going to focus on, you guessed it, dairy judging.
The purpose of dairy judging is for breeders to be able to compare cows and determine their superior traits and their traits that need to be improved upon. All cows are judged based off of the Purebred Dairy Cattle Association (PDCA) Dairy Cow Unified Scorecard.
The following is a link to scorecard: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCcQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.usjersey.com%2FReference%2FPDCA_Dairy_Cow_Unified_Scorecard_2009update.pdf&ei=ubbpUvmPL4qrsQSexoCwDg&usg=AFQjCNEAEJPCMWqNlwGwgWiEjFK5aSmcPA&sig2=EL2WlueFz_Fxzk_Sbj7q8g&bvm=bv.60444564,d.cWc
The major breakdowns of the scorecard are:
Udder–40 points
Dairy Strength–25 points
Rear Feet & Legs–20 points
Frame–15 points
In order to understand these breakdowns, it’s important to know the parts of a dairy cow.
At this point, you may be wondering, why were the previously mentioned categories picked to be on the scorecard? Well, each of these categories contains many sub-categories which encompass different parts of the cow. If these parts are structured a certain way, then they result in a healthier, more productive cow.
I’ll first start by describing the characteristics that make a desirable udder in a dairy cow.
Obviously, the udder is the organ that produces milk, so it is worth the most points. An udder that can hold more milk is more desirable. Hence, the ideal cow will have a high and wide rear udder attachment and a strong and smooth-blending fore udder attachment. Even though breeders want cows with capacious udders, they should also be youthful, meaning that the udder does not hand too low. Typically, the udder floor should be held above the hocks (the joints on the cow’s rear legs). An udder that is too deep can easily get stepped on or injured and is more difficult to milk. With each calf a cow has, the udder will get deeper, so it’s good for the udder to have room to grow. A cow should also have a strong, clearly defined udder cleft. The udder cleft is the ligament that divides the rear udder in half. It is a major support system for the udder, so a cow with a strong udder cleft will typically be healthier and last longer in the herd. The ideal udder should also possess a lot of bloom, meaning that it looks like it’s full of milk, and veining. Cows need a lot of blood to pass through their udders to produce milk, so the more veins visible on the udder, the more blood flowing through the udder and the more milk produced. Another important trait that should be analyzed on a cow’s udder is her teats. A cow should have medium-sized, uniform teats that hang square to the ground. Teats that are too fat, too skinny, too long, or too short will not fit into the inflations on the milking equipment correctly. In addition, teats that are too big can easily be injured. Breeders also want cows to have teats that hang perpendicular to the ground because it is difficult to milk teats that are too close together or too far apart; in some cases, the milker will not even stay on the cow.
I hope that you all learned a lot from my dairy judging rant. Next week, expect to learn about other traits seen on the PDCA scorecard and why they are desirable in a dairy cow!