The modern dairy cow
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A geeky read...
How big data created the modern dairy cow
5th December 2024
What do cryogenics, butterfat tests, and genetic data have in common? They’re some of the reasons behind the world’s most productive dairy cows. Here’s how it all started.
https://worksinprogress.co/issue/how-big-data-created-the-modern-dairy-cow/?
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That was an interesting read for me because I grew up on a dairy farm.
My father did milk testing for awhile. There was a glass carboy full of sulphuric acid housed in a wooden crate in the basement of our home that was used for the process. I was strictly enjoined from messing with it, but boys will be boys. It was way too heavy to lift or spill but one day I took the stopper out. There must have been traces of acid on the stopper that I got on my hands and wiped on my pants. The holes that showed up when the pants were washed gave me away.
We were using artificial insemination to breed many of our cows by the 1950s. I remember looking at the lists of bulls and their attributes in terms of the calves they sired. Some of the best were featured on the pages of a calender published every year by COBA (Central Ohio Breeding Association), the group that managed the service.
My sister still has the butter churn and the milk/cream separator that we used back then. Ah, the good old days.
Big Al
