Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1906-06-08
...Cheapening the Dairy RatIon...

alfalf>. hay and corn silage valued al
the cost of production AND other feed
ing stuffs at market prices, the cost OF
producing 100 pounds OF milk on the
alfalfa ration was 47.6 cents, and on
the feed ration IT'S cents. n the cost
OF producing one pound OF butter 10.17
cents and 14.S6 cents, respectively
showing a much greater profit from o
home grown ration. The profit In feed
ing the alfalfa ration over the pur-
chased feed ration was estimated al
1871 per cent. for milk and Bis per cent.
for butter. These results were aver
aged with those obtained in the earlier
experiments at he station, the results
showing an average saving in cost OF
production by using home grown feeds
OF 22.4 per cent. for milk and 900 per
cent for butter.
At the Maryland station c. f. Doane
compared leguminous crops and COM
mercial feeding stuffs as sources OF
protein in a number OF experiments.
In q test with fifteen cows a balanced
ration of alfalfa hay n corn meal
produced more milk than a balanced
ration of corn silage and mixed grains.
In another test with three cows a ball
anced ration OF alfalfa hay and corn
silage without grain did not give as
satisfactory results. judged from the
yield of milk, as a ration OF corn silage
and mixed grains, indicating that APP
parently some concentrated feed was
necessary for a maximum yield. In sew
eral tests with the entire herd during
two winters, cowpea silage was com
pared with corn Stage, the results be-
ing interpreted as proving the superior
ity OF the cowpea silage. These re-
suits show that alfalfa and cowpeas. In
addition to enriching the soil, may be
grown for the purpose of supplying to
a very large extent the protein In ra-
ton for cows.
At the Tennessee station. A. M.
Soule and S. E. Barnes showed sew
eral years ago that cowpea hay
could be substituted with profit for a
part of the ~cottonseed meal OF wheat
bran commonly fed to COWS. They
have more recently conducted similar
experiments with alfalfa hay.
Twelve cows were divided into three
lots and fed experimentaily for four
months. Lot one 2l,5io
pounds of corr silage. 1924 pounds or
wheat bran, and 1907 pounds of cotton
seed meal and produced 1921 pounds OF
milk and 1870 pounds OF butterfat-
Lot two consumed 20, 1858 pounds OF corn
silage, 1858 pounds of alfalfa hay, ana
1871 pounds of cottonseed meal apd pro-
duced 1853 pounds of milk and Az. ~
pounds OF butter fat. Lot three con-
sumed Is, 139 pounds of corn Stage, 81
0AU DOunQS OIL dildlld nay ohN Ss'~r
pounds of wheat r n ~producen
G.414 pounds of milk and 347 .99 pounds
of butterfat.
The three rations contained respec-
lively 5,792.19, 6,040.21 n ~5,66S.0I
pounds OF digestible matter. and mao
nutritive ratios OF las, 1.4.2 and l:o.6.
The net cost of producing a gallon OF
milk was tic for lot ], BIC for lot
and 9.2c for lot 3, allowance being made
IL aaob ~ for pngt nf food and at
tendance and for the. value OF tha
manure. The net cost of producing q
pound of butter was 12.2c, l0.4c and
l5.3c, respectively for the three lots
The best results from an economic
standpoint were apparently obtained by
lot ., where wheat bran was replaced
by alfalfa hay.
The conclusion was drawn from
these results that 3 pounds of alfalfa
hay could be made To replace ! pound
o. c~oltonseed meal, and l.5 pounds OF
alfalfa hay l pound of wheat bran
the ligr IL OF substitution depending
lp3n the Individual capacity of the
animals 10 consume hay, but ordinarily
nos exceeding 10 to l. pounds of alfalfs
aay Si}vn led with silage, nor 10 te
o poGa..s when fed without silage. IL
Ncs evidently letter to substitute the
alfalfa hay for tie wheat bran thar
for tie ~cottonseed meal. With alfalfa
hay NJ SO rer ton and wheat bran at
$40 per ton the saving effected by sub.
stitutinS alfalfa hay for wheat brar
was estimated at $50 per 100 pounds
OF milk and $3.50 per 100 pounds OF
butter.
A comparison of the results OF the
present with those OF the earlier ex.
perrin. ents referred TO showed that
when cowpea hay was fed under the
most favorable conditions a gallon
OF milk cost SIC. and a pound OF but
ter 9.4c, and that when alfalfa hap
was fed under the most favorable
conditions the cost of a gallon OF milk
was sic and a pound OF butter 10.4c.
These results show, therefore, that
either crop may be used to replace
wheat bran in rations for dairy cows.
the choice of the crop depending large
ly upon it's suitability TO the locality.