The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1899-12-23
cost OF Raising calves

Cost OF Raising Calves
Paper rcadat the farmers institute at
PoTtis, Kansas, ty 1. 7. Dutton. y
/ In the good old days hcTnre the cream.
cry, when butter was worth S cents and
rs cents a pound. made b, yourself and
hauled 10 town aud traded for stuff. it
might have paid bttter to feed the milk
to the calf. But with the coming of the
creamery the conditions fave changed.
MIX now has value in c,ill cash and if
we don't look out we will feed more dol
lars into our calf than we can get out
Let us figure little. guttexfat at this
station is now worth 10 cents a pouEd.
Milk has averaged 14.8 cents since jan
nary. It is worth Is cents pound, 4
per cent milk; that is milk with four
pounds of fat to 100 pounds Of rilk is
worth 60 ceGts per 100. A pail ct milk
weighs 20 pounds, 0ne-fitth of 10c, and
is worth one-6rth CT go cents; that is IL
cents. A. pail of milk is worth ;12 cents.
A calf will drink q pai!5of milk a day
for three months, or call it 100 days to
figure easier. He won't take that much
at first. but will average it for 100 days.
That costs us 10 cents a day for 100 days,
or S12, and he ought 10 be fed once a
day for another l00 days, which makes
SO more. making him cost at six months
or 200 days, s1S. He is q nice calf; coat
shining and sleek, and he is fat; he had
ought to be; he has sl8 inside Of him. 4
But that is not all the cost. 1t costs
something to keep COW. Call the COW
worth s35. The interest on the invest
ment is $3.50 and surely it is worth $3.50
to keep a COW year. making $40 more.
Now we are out SlS on the calf and $40
on the COW. making $28 and only the
calf to show for it, for the COW will dry
up as soon as you wean the calf.
And now comes tia weaning, and now
the fun hegins! The COW and the calf
will get together sometimes, and the air
gets full OF words not found in the die
tionary. Something seems to be happen-
ing. and general pandemonium reigns!
Let us take the calf from his mother.
tie him to post. fix up the fence, and
let him stand there while we look after
another kind OF calf.
We are going to try another plan
with this calf. We are goirg to feed
him skim milk and send his mothers
milk to the creamery. Skim milk is
worth nominally Is cents per hundred
pounds. Nobody has any to sell.
We will feed this calf pailful a day
for 100 days. II is worth 3 cents day.
But the separator has taken OFT the but
ter fat, worth IL cents and we must re-
place 1t, for we are not going to work
against nature. 1t wouldn't pay. So
we take a little oil meal, worth two
cents per pound, and n handful of shell
led corn worth not $40 OF a cent. A
pound of oil meal will last several days.
But we call the whole business worth
cent a day, and mix it in our skim
milk 10 mate up for the stuff we sold at
IL cent?. That makes our feed cost US
4 cents day, and In 100 days makes 81.
and another 100 days, once da7, 81
more, making Sc the cost Of the skim
milk calf for six months. But we have
some more cost, as in the case OF the
other calf. Our COW costs US for the six
months, So. We say six months because
she is still in proEt-still giving milk
i worth GO cents per hundred; don't know
4 anything about calf, and will at least
! pay for her keep the next six months.
( Now we have to figureu up our balance
on this transaction. We didn't have
any balance to figure up Oh the other
calf; we were out S28 and only the call
to show for it. This calf cost us Sc; keeT
of COW and interest IS; total cost s11
But what became Of that IL cents worth
of butter we Ididn'tfecd the calf.
], Why, we sold it to the creamery and
got our cash every month OF the com
panY's check, good for its face the coun
/ ty over. And how much was it? l:
3 cents a day for 200 days. or 1924 IN cold
j hard cash. Take from this our cost, Si1
! and we have nice cash balance of $la
!, and e good calf clear, and lie is goot
4 CALI. Maybe not so fat or sleek as tn
t other, but he knows more, has plenty 0
a good bone and muscle and looks able t
l back the storms and cold of the coming
9 winter.
' The other calf, being raised pet, an
set back b. his weaning, will have al
he can do to hold his own, and by tn
! time they are yearlings rast you can
a tell them apart. II anything your skin
d milk calf is ahead.
ri When We gay skim milk, we mean I'll
' pure stuff fed warm and sweet. Notion
= day cheese, tho next whey, the next ont
v half water, and the next none at all Qt
i hauler forgot our CAM but always til
r same warm and sweet. In this shap
o. with the addition Of a little Gil me,
n and shellpd corn Mt nominal cost, "
ID contend thar it equals the whole milk /
ve a feed for the growing calf, and it
M much more economical. We have 70
!. gotten the pig in our talk but the san
argument nelds good in his case, Anal
:, =. sis teaches us that the separator TAX
"a "a out only the fat, leaving the bone Al
- - muscle making ingredients still in u
= milk.
'iT Christmas and New Years nj II Ion.
he The Nickle Plate Road will sell ticxe
Ia to any point located in Central Passe
ger association territory, at a fare and
third for the round trip, account
Christmas and New Year holidays,
he December %. "a, 25, 30, and 81, and Ja
by narv ], with return limit to and inclu
! Ing January End, 1900. Students, up
% presentation Of proper credentials, G
Is. obtain tickets at the same rate, wi
ey liberal return limit. Complete infor
nv alton may be secured bv calling on,
addressing the General Agent, III Ada
street, Chicago. (4S-23