The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1897-10-27
What Should a Dairyman Do With
His Cows That Don't Pay for
Their Feed and Care2


dairymen not to keep Improbable cows
He said that the right way to do was to
weigh and test the milk of each COW
through the entire year, and if at the
end of the year any of his cows failed
to pay profit, they should be disposed
OF as soon as possible. III he would
continue this wedding out process,
keeping only the best and raising only
the heifer calves from the best, he
would, in few years, have herd that
would pay a good profit even if butter
was low.
The next day milk was tested with
the Babcock test at the Institute, SAM
Piles of which were brought in by differ
ent persons. Some of the samples
tested as high as six per cent, but one
brought in by man whose name we
have forgotten, but will call A., tested
OF per cent. The owners of the diff
ferent COWS, whose milk was tested,
were questioned in relation to their
COWS, as to how much milk they gave,
what breed they were, how long since
they we're fresh, etc. When A was
questioned, he said his cow was very
large one, gave for a short time when
fresh forty pounds day, but it soon
dropped off 10 much smaller quantity,
and finally she went dry about five
months. He said he had been testing
her milk and it usually tested 2.5 per
cent, but thinking perhaps he had not
done it right, he brought some to the
institute to let the expert test it.
"Now," says Mr.. A, ~ am satisfied
that she does not pay for her keeping.
She does not make, with the best of
feeding, land she is big eater-more
than $50 pounds of butter in year.
Now, the question l want answered
here is: What shall 1 do with herr"
A man in the audience, whom we will
call Mr.. B, jumped up quickly and said:
"Sell her. That's what we were
told to do yesterday with such cows"
"To whom shall sell her2 To one
of my neighbors for dairy cow"
There was a long pause, and finally
the answer came in hesitatipg way:
"No, that would hardly be right;
better sell her to some of these stock
buyers, who ship stock to Chicago.
All they care for is to get big COW
with big udder. 1t she looks fine,
she will sell all right"
"But," says Mr. A, somebody will
get cheated with her-some dairyman
down at Elgin, or some where else.
Perhaps some man will buy her and
sell milk from her only, and in so do
ing violate the lay by selling milk be-
low standard, get fined, and worse than
all, have an irreparable injury done his
character. No, that answer won't sat-
isfy me.'
well, feed her good and what she
don't put into milk, she will make into
meat, and when she is fat, sell Der for
beef"
"But 1 don't want to make beef. l
can get great deal more for my feed
to give it to good dairy cow and have
it made into butter. l want good
cow is place of her, and what have
raised this question for is to see it some
one here can't tell me of some way to
get rid of her without cheating any
body"
After considerable discussion, it was
decided that Mr.. A could sell the COW
to some one who did want to make
beef of her, and it would be all right,
if he would tell the purchaser just what
kind of COW she was.
We think that question was settled
about right, but there frequently arises
a question as to what to DO with cows
that have become improbable for the
dairy that differs essentially from this.
Such one was once asked in another
meeting. 1t was this: A man had
COW eight years old that had been
very fine dairy animal, but had recent.
ly lost the use of half of her udder, 80
she was no longer profitable for the
dairy. She was of the true dairy type
without any tendency to make beef;
had never had any surplus flesh in her
life, although she had always been well
fed.
The owner asked, "What shall do
with her?"
The answer was given by practical
man, who had bad many years expe-
rience with cattle kept exclusively for
the dairy, and also with beef cattle. He
said
Sell her now for a Gamer, or for
whatever they want to do with her, for
what you can get, if it is not more than
$40, and not waste any food on her try
ing to fatten her up. You may put
little meat on her, if you feed her long
enough, but it will cheap meat, and at
the same time the dearest meat man
ever made. Every dollar you add TO her
selling price by feeding will cost you
more than two dollars in feed. Don't
worry about being obliged to sell her 80
cheap. You have MIXED her for six
years and made enough clean profit
from her to buy two good cows and
more too. She has been profitable
COW for you anyway no matter how little
you get for her. But you don't want
to fool away any of the money you
have made in keeping her by trying to
make beef of her, something it is not
in her nature to do"
We think that question was rightly
answered also. We every year see
men wasting good feed trying to fatten
old, broken drown, played-out dairy
cows, because they dislike to sell them
30 cheap" If they would give the
feed to good productive cows, it would
bring them four times as much
Hoard's Dairyman.