Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-03-26
COWS; IOWA'S
MONEY MAKERS
PROPER MANNTR OF SELECTING
AND FEEDING DAIRY ANIMALS
POINTERS FROM EXPERIMENT
STATION

| AS the population of the United
States increases the problem of secur-
| ing a cheap source of food is sure to
bring dairying into great prominence.
This will be due to the fact that the
dairy COW produces a greater amount
of human food from given quantity
animal Experiments show that for
human consumption, three lbs. Of milk
are equal to one pound of beef, and
the COW will produce twenty-five lbs.
OF milk as cheap as the steer will pro-
duce three pounds of meat Hence the
COW manufactures human food In the
form Of milk of one-third what the
steer will manufacture food in the
form of meat For the above reasons
the dairy COW is of paramount import
ance in the thiclzly settled commune
ties Of the United States and in Eu-
rope
The following is from the last bull
letin sent out by the Experiment sta
ton located at Ames:
Dairyng and Soil Fertility.
The man who markets his produce
in the form of butter removes very
little fertility from his soil. For ex-
ample, 500 pounds of butter lit would
take three Iowa cows one, year to pro-
duce 800 pounds of butter) removes
| eighteen cents worth of fertility from
the soil. The remaining $99S2 re-
ceived for the 500 pounds of butter Is
made by plant life from air, water and
sunshine. AS result dairy farms in
Europe have maintained their virgin
fertility for 1000 years, while some Of
our grain farms are exhausted in fifty
years. The comparison between
dairy and grain farms is worthy Of
careful study.
Corn is King In Iowa, and yet we
stand second. (next to New York; in
number Of dairy cows and the produc-
ton Of dairy products. The govern
ment report for January !. 1906 cred
tied Iowa with over 100000 milk
cows. The average yearly butter fat
produced by these COWS is estimated
at only 40 pouds per head. Accord
ing to reliable authority one-third OF
Iowa's 100000 COWS are MIXED at a
less. This means that the Iowa far
mer milks 100000 Improbable COWS
every night night and morning. If
we should assume that each COW Is
milked ten months during the year, 1t
would keep $500 men busy ten hours
each day for three hundred days each
year to milk the Improbable cows on
Iowa farms provided these men are
quick enough to. milk cow every six
minutes.
'"The immediate problem is to get
rid of the poor-cow. The one thing
that will do more than any one thing
to make daring profitable in the state
of Iowa during the coming year, is to
i get rid Of the COW that does not pay
her way How can we detect the
worthless animal? The Babcock test.
er and scales answer the question
Weigh the milk from each COW; test
the milk for butterfat; know exactly
what the cows are doing and eliminate
the dead-heads. Our most successful
dairymen are building up their herds
/ by the above method
Eliminate Poor Cows.
Number or name every COW in the
herd and keep a record Of the number
of pounds OF milk given by each In
diyidual COW. Weigh the milk. This
can be easily done by suspending a
spring scales from the ceiling over.
head. If you are too busy to weigh
the milk every night and morning
then weigh it one day out of each
week, or two consecutive days out Of
two weeks or three consecutive days
out of each month. 1t is important tc
have some system.
/. 'Test the milk. Take sample Of
each cows milk one day out of eact
week or for three consecutive days
Of every month and put in the tes1
bottle. This can be done by means o.
a smoll dipper. 1t is important thai
|. this sample be accurate, and should
be taken while the milk is warm. or il
case the cream has been allowed tt
raise, it should be thoroughly stirred
The samples may be tested at the
local creamery or a Babcock teste
, large enough to test eight COWS at once
and equipment to go with it may b.
purchased. This will not cost to ex
coed $780, Several families coult
go together and purchase this testing
s machine making the cost for each fam
!. lily very light.
1
) much time" Testing Is not a matte
!, of time; it is matter of business
The man who is too busy to spend on
3 minute each day in weighing milk, /
3 very likely spending half hour mill
ing COWS that return nothing TO
2 labor, time and feed. Testing COW
+ saves time; it eliminates the waste
n labor of milking poor cows It put
4 dollars in the pocket of the dairymar
"Ten test associations in Denmar
r increased the productive capacity q
r their cows more than 10 pounds c
e butter fat per COW, per year for PEI
+ Tod Of four years. Let 1t also be under
stood that the COWS made an annus
# production Of more than twice a
!. much butter fat than the average low
a COW. Another portion Of Denmark RI
!. ports that by means of testing an
# selecting $4,000 COWS made an increas
of SO pounds of butter fat per COW /
# one year. In Iowa, with her 100000
could dn &C wo1l would od