Purebred Cows

[fighting_cax]

Purebred cows native to Mongolia produce, on aver-
age, 400 liters of milk per year; if Mongolian cattle
are crossbred with European breeds, the crossbred
cows can produce, on average, 2,700 liters per year.
An international agency plans to increase the profita-
bility of Mongolia’s dairy sector by encouraging wide-
spread crossbreeding of native Mongolian cattle with
European breeds.

Which of the following, if true, casts the most serious
doubt on the viability of the agency’s plan?
(A) Not all European breeds of cattle can be success-
fully bred with native Mongolian cattle.
(B) Many young Mongolians now regard cattle raising
as a low-status occupation because it is less
lucrative than other endeavors open to them.
(C) Mongolia’s terrain is suitable for grazing native
herds but not for growing the fodder needed to
keep crossbred animals healthy.
(D) Cowhide and leather products, not milk, make
up the bulk of Mongolia’s animal product
exports to Europe.
(E) Many European breeds of cattle attain average
milk production levels exceeding 2,700 liters.

OA is C

Please explain.

[hetavdave]

I reached B by POE. B doesn't seems best option but out of the lot, i'll go with B.

A) Not all European breeds of cattle can be success-
fully bred with native Mongolian cattle.
(not all but majority can..)

(B) Many young Mongolians now regard cattle raising
as a low-status occupation because it is less
lucrative than other endeavors open to them.

(C) Mongolia’s terrain is suitable for grazing native
herds but not for growing the fodder needed to
keep crossbred animals healthy.
(what if fodder is artificially cultivated or imported?)

(D) Cowhide and leather products, not milk, make
up the bulk of Mongolia’s animal product
exports to Europe.
(irrelevant)

(E) Many European breeds of cattle attain average
milk production levels exceeding 2,700 liters.
(irrelevant)

[gmat_dest]

I came to C.

Really interested to know why the OA is *..

[SanjeevK]

IMO C:

P1: Mongolian purebred cow produce 400 litres of milk per year
P2: Cross bred with European produce 2700 l of milk per year
p3: increase profitability of Mongolian dairy sector by encouraging cross breding with european breeds

A: We are not talking about all Europea breeds. We are good even if some of the breeds are suitable for cross breeding. OUT
B: So what. It is quite possible that the middle aged or older people are interested in this. OUT
D: Out of scope
E: Out of scope

Only C attacks the premise by suggesting that there will be shortage of fodder unless it is imported in which case the profitability will suffer

Hope this helps

[hetavdave]

hmm..realized my mistake..thanks sanjeev for the explanation

[aj5105]

Cause: cross breed

Effect: more milk

(C) attacks the effect. [When cb cows are not healthy, they cannot produce more milk]

[Sprite_TM]

imo C
A) yah but some still successful in breeding, we just select the ones that can crossbreeed sucessfuly
b) OOS
c yeah, if they all die, how can they produce milk?
d OOS
E OOS - argument not about european cows

HTH

[kris_hansy]

IMO C,

If the crossbred animals can't survive, Mongolia is going to lose the 400 liters it was receiving so far.

[james33]

I am leaning more towards C, but I'm not sure about it.