Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1910-01-04
Clean a;,k ~ Reasonable Cost.

X
"How Clean An Wholesome MIX may oe
Produced at Least Cost for the New iorS
| Market.")
This is one of the most serious PROB
lens that confront the twentieth CEN
tury dairymen, and must oe dealt with
accordingly. The yield must De inereas,
ed, the cost of production lowered, ana
at the same time clean and wholesome
milk must be produced'
The selection aud breeding of dairy
cows plays an important part in lower
| ing the cost OF production and increas-
ing the yield. The average yield OF
milk per cow in New York is about 4o0O
pounds a year. Any one familiar with
| the price of mi and feed knows that
COW giving 45O0 pounds of milk year
gives a small compensation to the dairy
man for labol By careful selection
and breeding. the WELD can be increased
To 1000 or 5000 pounds year per COW
in very few ears. The dairymen OF
the past, and a nod majority at present,
have paid too iit'ls attention to this I'M
portant subjec. by breeding their cows
to scrub sires, .oNering instead OF rais-
ing the milk-pr11uction.
1t is not nstessary to have all pure
bred cattle in order to have a cookbook
ing breed or a yya fitable herd. The old
saving that "bioo1 will tell" is true
one, and we a. know it, whether We
heed it or not IN our practice. TO use
.Jersey sire one wear, the next HolsteiD,
and probably some other kind, or no
kind at all. al another time, will never
give us a uniform herd, either in appear
ance or production. :,
In the selection of your pure-bred
sire. remember tLAt the sire is half the
herd" and do not stop for Few extra
dollars in cOsr lut get the best you
possibly can. Many men are satisfied
il they can buy yegistered calf, and the
registration is about all they get. A
sire is not made better because he is
registered. Give more attention to the
dairy ability of his dam than you do to
the color of his hair. being sure that he
comes from -ood producing family.
Take care of the ire and feed him well.
Do not use sire before he is one year
old, and then not too much, and give
him plenty of exercise. Where possible
and practicable. The sire may be pur-
chased jointly, which will lower Its cost
individually.
When you ge good sire, keep him,
and if the use OF him strengthens your
belief in him, continue to use him just
as long as you can. You can safely
breed each sire o. his own heifers II they
are strong and Figorous, but when 1t
comes to breeding the granddaughter,
yoa should select another sire of the
same breed and of the same family.
Breed the heiters tn freshen at 2 l-2
years of age; continue to milk them
twelve months, and have them freshen
the second time a, four years OF age, and
il they have been properly reared, they
will begin TO give the maximum yield.
They should have four TO six weeks
rest before freshening.
Feeds and feeding OF the dairy herd
are of the most Importance in this study
of economic milk production. Any one
can feed an animal well as to nourish-
meut if he takes no thought of the cost
of the ration, but it requires some study
to feed well and cheaply, To produce
milk economically, we should use the
roughage of our farms, wherever possi-
bic, for by so doing we not only save
the labor of hauling bulky materials,
but will also build up the fertility of our
land. Ii we must buy feed, let it be
concentrates and such materials rs are
high in protein and carbohydrates.
The silo should De an important con-
sideration in the production of cheap
milk. Corn enSllage IN the silo costs
from 81. so to $3.50 per ton, and this in
cludes all expenses, such as rent OF land,
fitting the ground, planting and caring
for the crops, cutting aud putting IN the
silo. Ii the ensilage cost twice this
amount, il would be cheap food and
hard to duplicate on any farm. Corn
ensilage is one of the best feeds obtain
able to balance alfalfa and clover hay in
winter. and take the place of pasture IN
summer.
There should be some kind of supple
mentary crops grown to help out when
the pastures get past their best; by do
ing this, you will tiud that what grain is
used will do all the more good. Plant
ing literally of such crops, you can cure
for winter, or store in the Silo what IS
not needed for soiling. Corn and mil
let are excellent, and some succeed well
with oats and peas; you will hnd your
self repaid for the extra care and labor.
The grain ration should be made up 50
far as possible with farm grown grains,
but it is often wise to buy such feeds as
bran. cottousee6 meal and Oil meal.
The grain should be balanced in food
nutrients the same as the roughage, so
that large or small amounts OF grain may
be fed and yet preserve a balance in the
ration.
We should know all our cows and
their characteristics and individualities.
Feed what the animal can use in dairy
way: that is, what il can take without
gaining in flesh, but retaining the body
weight, or even losing if she is in high
flesh at fresheniug time. 1t pays to feed
well, for it is poor economy to run this
COW machine below capacity. Always
remember this, that the food required
for body maintenance is the same
whether the COW produces large or
small quantity of milk, but II the feed
be only enough 10 keep her body, we
cannot expect much milk. Economic
milk production can only come from
cows of large capacity that are well fed.
After you get your herd, either by
selection or by breeding, and have fed
and cared for them well, you nave not
lone your full duty until you adopt a
plan that will tell you how many good
cows YOU have and which ones they are,
Whether you breed your cows or buy
them, you are not going TO get them all
good the first time, but you must be con-
tinually wedding out the unprOtitabie
ones. Many of our dairymen will object
to keeping account with their cows
rhey say it is too much trouble and
costs too much, and that the cows will
not give any more because their milk is
weighed, but t will cost more not TO do
it. Weighing aud testing cows milk
nay not make her give more or better
milk, but it may cause you to put bet
ter COW in her place.
Weigh each cows milk at every milk
ing, keep record of il the year through,
and it will be most surprising to dairy
men that have never done this. Any
person with the least ability can carry
out weighing and testing experiments.
OF course, it lakes little time, and
some one who is interested must over
see it. There are several draw backs,
but the advantages outnumber the dis
advantages.
These are the facts, but il is fact
that many farmers do not weigh and
test their milk. In recent years an i'm
portant feature in dairy development
has been the formation OF cow-testing