The Cairo bulletin., 1910-01-12
Feeding Grain to Mich Cows.


farming, it is recognized as essential
to the greatest success to maintain
the highest and most uniform flow OF
milk practicable throughout the year.
able the change from barn feeding to
pasture is as rule highly beneficial,
both as regards yield and quality OF
milk and health of the cows, but even
In good grazing regions there are fire.
quently parts OF the season, usually
late summer. when the pastures are
apt TO become dry and thus make II
matter of much practical impor-
lance to find some means of keeping
up the milk flow, says the Mirror and
Farmer. For this purpose the pra&
tice of feeding either grain or soiline
crops to supplement the pasture has
been suggested. The economy Of
feeding grain to cows at pasture has
been subject of Investigation by
several of the experiment stations.
In experiments II the Kansas sta
ton a number OF years ago two lots
of cows each We're fed alternately on
pasture and bran, pasture and corn
meal, and pasture and ground oats,
for periods of seven days each The
conclusion was that although the
grain feed added materially to the
milk yield. cornmeal showing the
greatest increase, the increased re-
turns did not pay the cost of the
grain. In fact there was a consider
able loss
In experiments at the New York
fed, from June to September 81, a
daily ration of two pounds of cotton
seed meal and two pounds of bran per
COW, and another lot was fed from
May % to September II. six to nine
pounds daily per COW of mixture of
wheat bran 100 pounds, cottonseed
meal 100 pounds, and malt sprouts Is
pounds, in addition to good blue
grass pasture In neither case was
there any profitable return in milk or
butter for the additional grain feed
In experiments with cows soiled in
the barn on fresh grass there was an
increase in the milk and butter pro.
duction and a saving in grass barely
sufficient TO pay the cost Of the add
ed grain ration,
To determine whether the profit
from grain feeding would be greater
in case of poorer pasturage herd Of
cows on light pasture was divided in
to two similar lots, one lot receiving
only pasture and soiling. the other,
beginning May %, was fed four
quarts per COW daily 1.-TWO feeds,
night and morning,) of a mixture OF
equal parts of corn meal, wheat bran.
and cottonseed meal. On August 10,
the pastures having become dry, both
lots began to receive ration of green
corn fodder of about 16 pounds per
COW per day. On September 9 the
corn fodder ration was changed to
millet, which continued until october
/, when second growth grass was
used; this continued until October 13
when pumpkin began to be fed. The
grain feeding in this case resulted in
O profitable increase in milk produc-
ton and also in a considerable gain
in weight of the cows. The benef-
cial effect of the grain feeding was
observable the following season, par
ticularly in the development and per-
formance of the younger animals.
At the Mississippi station no bene-
fit was derived from feeding three to
four pounds Of cottonseed meal and
four to six pounds Of wheat bran per
pasture. The question of grain feed
ing OF cows at pasture has recently
been investigated anew by ] H. Stew
art and H. Atwood of the West Viz
ginia station. They found that there
was no direct financial gain from
feeding six pounds per COW daily OF
a rather rich grain feed containing
1865 per cent protein and 3.5 per cent
of fat to cows on pasture, notwith-
standing the fact that in some cases
the pasture became short from
drouth, 1t is true that the cows
which received grain were uniformly
In somewhat better flesh than those
that did not receive grain, but as far
as the milk yield was concerned the
increased flow was produced at an
actual loss.
Summarizing the results of all the
experiments which have been made
on the subject, the conclusion seems
justified that unless dairy products
are especially high in price 1t is not
profitable practice to feed grain to
cows at pasture. 1t is true that more
milk is obtained and the cows hold
up their yield better and remain in
better flesh when receiving the grain
rations, but under ordinary circum-
stances there is no direct profit from
the grain feeding. as the increased
production usually costs more than
1t can be sold for.
Plant the strawberry, raspberry,
way places about the farmhouse.