The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1905-11-30
Fall Freshening of Cows.

course. He thinks he is making milk
cheaply, because the most of it is
made on grass. Like many other
questions in dairying, the result lies
behind so much figuring that the av-
erage man cannot see the real truth.
Take for instance, any community
where a creamery runs the whole
year. Part of the patrons have their
cows freshen from September to the
middle Of November. They feed en-
silage and buy bran or feed corn and
oats that they raise themselves. They
treat their COWS literally. Go to any
creamery of this character and select
the patrons of this character and we
will guarantee that they will be found
to be the most prosperous. The fol-
lowing are some of the advantages
L. They make milk fog the eight
months when it is highest in price.
The butter made from fall and winter
milk averages five to seven cents
more a pound.
2. Ample statistics show that the
fall calving cow will yield from 1000
to 1900 pounds more milk than if she
calved in the spring. Add that to the
higher price of the butter and it
means a good deal. Why will she
yield more milk? Start a cow in
spring and in three months she comes
upon milk shrinking conditions, flies,
heat and drought. Start her in the
fall and she suffers no set back for
six months; then when the flush feed
of May Is to July Is comes she takes
a new start. When the flies COM
mence TO get bad she is nearly ready
t dry off.
3. The calves dropped in the fall
are, as a rule, if they have been right
~ fed and cared for much superior at
10 months of age to calves born IN
spring. They have the same exemp-
ton from flies the cows have and it
helps the calf as much as it does the
cow; they thrive and grow better. If
they have farm separated milk and
bright second or third cutting of al
falfa hay, with a few oats, they will
astonish the spring calf at 10 months
of age.
For several reasons in the spring
we have advertised and sold a little
bunch of grade Guernsey heifers, fall
born. They have sold for from $50
to SIS a head when seven to eight
months old. Scores of dairy farmers
have visited our stables to see these
calves. Almost invariably they have
expressed themselves astonished at
the growth of the youngsters, and it
has never been difficult to get a good
price for such heifers, which caused
the skim milk they ate to return SO
cents per hundred pounds.
No dairy farm is we'll organized for
the largest profit in cream and butter
production that does not have the
majority of its COWS freshen in the
fall. The raising of nice heifer calves
is a part of the good work of such
a farm. Calf raising and pig raising
should be one of the best studied ad-
%juncts of a we'll managed dairy farm
Writing on this important subject
to the Wisconsin Agriculturalist, the
veteran Wisconsin dairyman, c. P
Goodrich of this city, says:
"In a COW census of 50 herds / took
two years ago in Fond du Lac coun-
ty. Wisconsin, where | charged the
cows on each farm with the value O
food per cow, and got from the
| creamery the amount of butter pro-
duced per cow, and the amount Of
money paid per COW, / found the fol
lowing facts: / found IL herds in
which all of the cows were fresh in
fall and "A herds where all were fresh
in spring. The balance of the herd:
were fresh at different times of the
year. and these / will leave out o.
consideration, at this time.
The great objection many make tC
| fall cows is: that it costs more tc
feed them, if they are to be kept Civ.
ing milk during the winter. Feec
was very high the year / took thi:
census and it cost an average of $40;
more per COW to feed the fall COW.
than it did the spring cows. But the,
produced So pounds of butter NOR,
per COW with $12.95 more in return:
per COW and $5.95 o net profit.
Now you may say that those who
had the fall COW were the best dairy
men. Quite likely. The fact of theii
having cows fresh in the fall woult
seem to indica e it. And let me say
before / forg t it; good dairymen
men who know how to are for cows
will make more profit by having theii
COWS fresh in fail, while poor dairy
men, men who don't know how t.
care for them and expect COWS t.
care for themselves, had better hav,
their COWS fresh in spring, or bette
still, not have any COWS at all. / meal
dairy cows"
On the question of changing a her,
OF COWS over from spring to fall calv
ing, Mr.. Goodrich speaks of his ow,
experience as follows:
"a great many dairymen want t,
change their herds that are now, O
have been spring cows, around t
winter cows. Some have told me tina
they have experienced a great deal @
j difficulty in doino go uri11 tell ho,