Progress Report for Alaska's Dairy Breeders

Abstract

Until mid-1957 most dairymen were expanding their herds. Many old animals were kept that were difficult to breed. When a military market failed to materialize in 1957, many of these unsatisfactory cows were the first to be culled. This culling accounts in part for the improvement in conception rates beginning in late 1957. Other contributing factors were better communications and roads, possibly better insemination skills, and more important the economic squeeze that forced operators to watch more carefully for heat periods.