Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1905-10-25
Influences of Food.

Numerous experiments have been
made at the Illinois experiment sta.
: ton IN the study of the influences or
food on the fat content of milk. In
many cases the experiments that have
been published and discussed cannot,
however. in view OF present knowl'
edge, be considered of such char.
acter as to justify some of the con.
clusions that have been drawn from
them 1t has been held, and doubtless
with good reason, that the food has
only a secondary influence on the
quality of the milk produced by COWS,
provided these are fed sufficient food
to maintain their body weights While
in milk. A COW that normally pro
duces 9 per cent milk cannot be made
10 give milk containing 4 per cent
OF fat or more by any special system
of feeding that we know of. nor can
the proportion of fat in the milk TO
the other milk solids be changed at
will by the food. The qualify OF the
milk produced by a COW is determined
by her inbred characteristics and can
not be changed to any large extent by
feeding special foods or by changing
the system of feeding. At the same
time the evidence accumulated during
late years shows quite conclusively
that feeding stuffs of heterogeneous char
acter, like oil meals Of the various
kinds, gluten meal, meal sprouts, etc,
I Mi N
quality of the milk produced by the
cows, and that. in general, the best
quality and also the largest quantity
Of milk which a COW is capable of pro-
ducing will be obtained by feeding ra-
tions fairly rich in protein. As this is
the most important result and of inter
est to all dairymen, we shall consider
more in detail some of the expert
mental evidence that has led to this
conclusion, and especially the expert
ments on this point conducted during
late years at our station.
The results of the feeding expert
ments conducted at the experiment
station since the establishment of the
present herd have been published.
During the first Az years of these ex-
periments the ration fed to the COWS
in the herd were Of rather wide
nutritive ratio, containing only com
paratively small proportions OF pro,
tein. On such rations the cows were
able TO produce, on the average Of the
whole herd, 1910 pounds Of milk and
307 pounds of butter fat year per
head, equivalent to more than a pound
of butter for every day in the year.
twenty-five out Of the IS cows in the
herd produced more ran goo pounds
of butter fat year on the average,
and % COWS yielded a profit Of $40 or
more O. year over and above the cost
of the food eaten. Bearing in mind
the fact that IA of the COWS were
either two or three years old when
placed in the herd, it will be readily
granted that this is a most salts
factory showing TIE exact compost
ton of the rations sed C~'rId only be
determined during the w.2te. months
since the cows were pastured in sum
mer
The average rations fed during the
i winter for the period 1S9S-1903 con
tanned 23.7 pounds Of dry matter. 1.S5
pounds digestible protein and 14l
pounds digestible carbohydrates and
fat, and had therefore a nutT1tive ratio
/ of 1875. Since the approved ply
Biological feeding standards for dairy
cows recommend 21l pounds Of di.
gestible protein and a nutritive ratio
of 1854 or 81, it might be argued. az
was actually the case when our re-
suits we're published, and the proiuc-
ton Of the COWS in our herd would
have been still higher than it was IL
the system OF feeding followed had ad-
herei more closely to the standards
which are held UP before US "a the
| ideal theoretically.
To meet this criticism # was de
cided to cnsnge the system Of feeling