Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1908-02-11
Raising or Buying Cows.

Which is the more desirable, raisinl
cows or buying them?
The answer to this question must bt
to some extent conditional. There art
farmers so situated that they need tn,
full stock-carrying capacity of theil
farms for cows in milk. Dairy men wh(
have to furnish given amount of milk
to supply the daily needs of retail
trade which requires all, or more, thar
the farm can produce, are obliged to de-
pend on the stock market for cows tC
keep up their herds. 1t is a case OF
necessity with them; they have TO buy
and take their chances, or raise the
young stock at loss.
But these conditions are not genera
and do not apply to the general farmer
or dairyman. For the man who is en-
gagged in general farming there is no be-.
ter course than to raise enough heifers
to keep his own herd good aud, also
some to sell to the milkman, who must
buy. 1t will be readily admitted that al
farmers engaged in so-called mixed
farming may find a good source of in
come in growing few choice cows each
year. Good young cows are always in
demand at prices that leave fair mar
gin of profit.
But this question applies with especial
force 10 the dairyman who does business
under average farm conditions. Can
these men who are making milk for the
wholesale market, or who sell cream, or
make butter, afford TO buy their cows?
As a rule, do not think they can.
We keep cows for specific purpose.
II is hard to find just what we want
when we go into the market TO buy. II
we do find her, it takes big money to
buy,-ususlly more than it would have
cost to raise one equally as good.
In raising our cows we have chance
to breed for what we want. There is
much satisfaction in herd uniform in
size, form and color; there is more in a
herd in which all are good producers.
By growing our heifers We stand good
chance of getting both of these satisfy
ing qualities,-beauty and utility.
The future usefulness of any COW de-
pends largely upon how she is brought
up. By right system of care, we can
SO develop the growing heifer that she
will have an added value as a cow.
There is much in breed and much in
pedigree, but these are worthless unless
the feeding and care are such as to de-
velop the natural tendencies of the
breed. You can not starve the calf and
get profitable cow.
The supply of good cows is never
equal TO the demand. 1t is then, often a
choice between growing good one, buy
ing a poor one or going without. When
it comes to this there should be no
on Our part, as We cannot go
without nor afford to keep the poor
COWS. Raising them is a necessity if we
are to get the most out of our herds and
attain the highest success in our busi-
ness.
Under normal conditions, the heifer
can be raised on the farm for less than
she will sell for when mature; the cost
of growing is not, then, a deterrent, as
we are reasonably sure of profit on the
heifer herself, besides the added value
of the farm and dairy.
Every young animal growing up on
the farm returns to it large part of its
cost in the form of manure. Not one
farm in hundred is stocked up to its
full carrying capacity; not one in a
thousand but needs the manure from all
the stock that could be kept. Here is a
value not easily measured in dollars, yet
one, nevertheless, that is real and must
not be lost sight of.
Breeding and raising stock, especially
the dairy COW, not only adds TO the In
come and increases the value OF the
farm, but serves a much higher purpose
than either of these-it develops the
man who does the breeding and feeding.
When we begin to study the problems
connected with the science of breeding,
we begin to grow, and that is the real
test of the value of any kind OF work.
When measuring any business, never for
get TO ask, What is its effect on the man
engaged in il?
Breeding dairy cows is great work and
develops great qualities in the man who
does il.
IL is then desirable TO raise our cows,
for these reasons: We are able to breed
for what We want, and get herd unl-
form in size, color, condition and pro-
we can so feed as TO de-
velop the heifer into good COW; we can
handle her so as TO make her kind and
gentle; we can grow her at profit; we
can add to the fertility aud productive
ness of the farm; last, but not least, we
make better farmers of ourselves by the
study and research necessary TO make us
successful as breeders and feeders. I'm
der such stimulus life looks bigger and
broader, and the farm, while money
maker, has 10 US a value over and above
that impaired to it by the dollars it can
be made to pay.-E. G.. Dow, Belfast,
Maine in Farm Journal