Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1900-01-18

How to Increase tGe Profits OF our
Dairies, is y subject whICh II, Il, Cur
Ter discussed nj several recent conNen-
tons Of datrymcn. At the Illinois
datrymen's convention MIR. Gurlor sud,
There are many ways in which the
profits Of most herds may be largely
Increased, Tho first ,.,.ng | would
recommend dairyman 60 do is to
make himself acquainted With each In
dividual COW of the herd, by this | do
not mean simply that he should know
each individual COW, but that he should
know what quality OF work SHE Is do
ing for him whether she is making
him II profit above the cost of food aud
labor, or not. II she Is not learn why
she is not, whether it Is her lack Of
capacity to- handle enough food. or
whether she is not being properly fed
and cared for.
When these points have been Demon
strated we know what to- do, II is an
Important matter for us to know
whether the COWS are being properly
fed or not and If not, to remedy It,
1t Is surprising to know that 80 many
dairymen do not pay more attention to
and know more about this point. The
question of the capacity of the mdiNid-
ual COW to do profitable work IL not Il
simple one to determine, but this re-
Quires no moro business ability than it
does to make any other business protit-
ahlcahlc. The profit Is what IL left af-
ter expenses are paid, and the COW in
telligently handled that leaves no bal
ance to her credit after feed and labor
ar paid for, should be sold out and one
put in her place that will leave profit
| There are herds of cows In the United
States that average 400 pounds of but
ter annually per COW, and herds in
nearly every community of the dairy
sections that average 800 pounds an
nually. These 800 and 400 pound dairy
cows should be object lessons to other
dairymen. What one dairymen or
dairy woman does another can do. We
! should all use the scale and Babroclt
test on each COW of our herds. In this
way we shall know what each COW is
doing, and this Is the only practical
way Of knowing, 1t Is necessary that
we know what it costs us to feed a COW
year, TO this add the cost of labor
and tho balance the account and see
whether the balance Is on tho right
! side or not
! | find II Improbable to keep cows
tnat do not produce above 200 pounds
of butter annually. | might have 100
cows on my farm that would produce
200 pounds Of butter each, annually,
and not make anything from the whole
herd. We will put the cost of feed nj
! $50 labor ut $40, interest at S. 80. and
we have $3.50, from which we will de-
duet $40 for skim milk, leaving So 80.
! We Will put the average net price for
! butter at lG cents per pound, and Will
! find we must have 203 pounds Of butter
before we have amy profit for our
| selves.
Now please tell what nso here Is In
keeping cows when We know there Il
no proit, or, ] might say, what sense
is there in our not knowing what COWS
pay MS 4 profit and which cows do not
pay profit. No other business in this
country would stand the lack of intel
| ligent work that our dairies do
! ! believe there is more need Of Intel
igence in dairying than In any other
line of farm work. There Is not Il
point in which there IL not an equal
need Of intelligence, and when 1t comes
to the point of figuring the profit or of
studying TO increase the profit, there Is
more room than In any other place IN
the whole line OF agriculture. Why
more dalrymen do not improve these
| opportunities to help themselves am
at loss to understand No manufac-
lufer could Withstand the competition
he has to contend with II he left unIm-
proved opportunities like most dairy
men are doing IN not testing their cows
and knowing what each COW Is doing
for them. Did you ever think of the
farmer as a producer, as he liz in grow
Ing his crops. in which work there Is
hHt lOI great DIdtllEHI klOWltuRe ana
skill? Next as manufacturer, as he
Is when he employs his farm animals
to manufacture his coarse fodder and
grain into milk, beef, pork. etc, and
with the dairy when he manufactures,
as he does IN some cases, his milk into
butter and cheese? Next as n sales
man, as he must be when he sells these
products Of the farm? II seems plain
to me that the successful dalryman OF
the future must be the brightest brain
lest man Of the whole list. He must
be master Of details.
! wish 10 impress upon you the COM
paratlye profits Of cows that make $50
pounds Of butter annually. and those
that make more. The $50 pound COW
leaves 80 pounds for profit, and the 300
pound COW leaves 100 pounds for profit,
Or twice as much as the $50 pound COW.
and she is worth twice as much. Yes,
she is worth more than that. She will.
Il properly bred. bear calves that will
make 300 pound cows or better. we
certainly sh0uld weed ont fha nnuxa