The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-09-05
SMALL PROFIT IN COWS.
EXPERIMENTS SHOW A SLIGHT MAR
GIN IN DAIRY FARMING.

mals-Success Depends on Manure.
coming to be very generally appreciated.
The dairy commissioner of Iowa is re-
ported as saying that the average COW in
that state gives but 5000 pounds of milk
annually, while good ones yield from 5000
to 5000 pounds. The director of the Yer
mont station states that the average yield
per COW in that state is only about $50
pounds of butter per annum, while there
are thirty daires in the state that average
over 800 pounds per cow.
The director of the New York station
says: New York has 100000 mich cows
probably producing, on an average, less
than 5000 pounds of milk per year, and the
annual average butter product per COW for
the state Is undoubtedly less than 100
pounds, This should not be, when there
are whole herds averaging 800, and some
400, pounds of butter per year for each
COW. Animals producing these by no
means phenomenal yields are not confined
to any particular breed, and are often
grades of our so called native or no breed
animals. Proper selection, systematic,
breeding and judicious feeding have pro-
duced these profitable animals and herds"
The difference in the milk producing
qualities of different cows is brought out
very clearly by series Of experiments
conducted at the Massachusetts State sta
tion, of which Professor G. A. Goessmann
is director They are especially interesting,
because the cows and their feed and care
were such as are found on the better farms
of Massachusetts,, and the results, OBJ
tanned with the appliances of well
equipped experiment station, show in nc
curate and full detail the elements of ac-
tual profit and loss as they could not be
found In ordinary farm experience
EXPERIMENTS IN MASSACHUSETTS.
These experiments have been made with
twelve COWS, and have continued over five
years. Grade Jersey, Ayrshire, Devon,
Durham and Dutch and native COWS were
used. They were secured for the expert
ments few days after calving, and fed
until the daily yield fell below five or six
quarts, when they were sold to the butch
er. The length Of the feeding period-i. O.,
duration of the experiment with each COW
varied from 26l to 800 days. Hay, fodder,
corn, corn silage, green crops. roots and
cornmeal, wheat, bran and other grain
were used
The daily ration per head consisted of
eighteen to twenty pounds of dry fodder,
or its equivalent Of green fodder, and
from 61S to 9X pounds of grain. Careful
accounts have been kept of the history of
each COW, including breed, age, number of
calves, length of feeding period, amounts
and kinds of fodder, yield of milk, chem
ical composition of feed, milk and manure
cost of COW aud feed and values Of milk
and manure.
The following is n recapitulation Of the
financial record of the cows. The milk
was reckoned at the price paid for it at the
neighboring creameries The value of the
manure produced is calculated by assum-
ing that of the total amount of food 20
per cent. would be sold with the milk and
the remaining S0p per cent. saved as manure
AS farmers in the region buy CONNER
cial fertilizers for the sake of their nitro
gen, phosphoric acid and potash, it was as
sumed that these same ingredients would
be worth about as much, pound for pound,
in the manure as in the better class of fer
tiizers, and accordingly the value of the
manure was computed by taking the nitro.
gen as worth lG19 cents, phosphoric acid
six cents, and potash "a cents, per pound
The return for feed consumed represents
what the feeder receives for labor, housing
of cattle, interest of capital invested, risk
of loss Of animals, etc
RESULTS IN FIGURES.
The most profitable COW was bought for
$780, fed 5S4 days and then sold for sos,
making her actual cost S32, and the feed
cost Sl35.05, so that the total cash outlay
was s1G705 The milk brought s203.37 at
the creamery, and the manure was estimat-
ed to be worth S5693, making the total
value received for feed consumed, $260 80
| Subtracting the total cash outlay of SlG7, ,0j
from this, there remains $93.25 as net re-
| turn for feed consumed. Deducting the
estimated value of the manure, the re-
mainder "return in excess of estimated
| value of manure" is $36.32
In the average for the twelve cows, tie
net return was s5043, and the return in
excess of the estimated value of the mGn-
IRE only sl5l3 With the least profitable
COW, the cash outlay for COW and feed ex-
ceeded the value of the milk and manure
by $3.97; in other words, the net return for
feed consumed was S397 less than nothing
Subtracting the value of the manure, the
total loss was S3425; that is to say, allow
ing for the value of the manure, the re-
| suits with the twelve COWS varied from u
gain of s93 to a loss of $3.07, or, if the
value of the manure be left out of ac-
count, from a gain of s3G32 to loss of
S3425.
1t is noticeable that the profit or loss did
not depend upon either the breed or the
length of the feeding period. The most
! profitable COW, and the least profitable but
! one, were both of the same breed. OF the
two most profitable cows, one was fed for
5S4 days and the other for only 279 days.
Two things, then, are brought out very
clearly by these experiments. One is that
in such localities as this the value of the
manure goes far to decide the piollt in
feeding dairy cattle. Another is that cows
which would ordinarily pass for good ones
may differ widely in product.
10 the practical dairyman these expert
ments teach clearly the difference between
cows which are profitable and those which
are not and the importance of selecting
the best cows for his dairy and getting rid
of the poor ones. In larger sense they
illustrate to every farmer the Importance
of knowing accurately the condition Of his
business. Upon this its success or failure
largely depends.-Farmers' Bulletin No
2, United States Department of Agricult.
| ure.