Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1910-07-12
Herd Testiug-.Does It Pay 2

Herd Testlng-.Does It Paya
We hear much talk every day about
the increasing cost of milk production;
it IS said that the rise in price has not
kept pace with the increased cost of pro.
ductiou, and that the farmer cannot
continue to make milk and sell it at the
present prices at profit. What is the
farmer who is producing milk to dop lie
cannot sell his cows and enter some
other field of endeavor for obvious rea-
sons. In the first place, there is pub.
lie demanding the milk, and some one
must produce it. Secondly, it would
mean ruin to the farm as well as the
farmer, for livestock Is the back Zone
of all agriculture, and there are few
farms which can afford to let go.
Farmers have tried by cooperation to
demand higher price, and in some
places they have been successful, but in
the majority they have not. There is
only one thing left to do; namely, lower
the cost of production. And the great
cry is: at cannot be done; we are pro-
ducing it in the cheapest possible man.
uer." But in practically every case that
is not so. There are three things which
can be done to cheaper production.
They are:
/. The weighing, sampling, and test
ing of each cows milk, thus showing
to the owner those cows which are pay
ing him a profit and those which are
boarding in his stable at the expense of
the better cows.
2. The grading up of the herd by the
use of pure-bred sire, and the raising
of the heifer calves to take the place of
the poor cows which are determined by
testing.
3. The substitution OF home grown
todders for the more expensive grains
and by-products that are constantly
soaring higher and higher in price.
1t is the lack of the first requisite
mentioned which probably raises the
cost of production more than the other
two together. 1t is certainly true that
the robber cows take mu IN of the profit
from the better ones. II we knew for a
fact that cow was costing us more to
feed than her products brought, how
iong would we keep herp Just long
enough to get her out Of the stable, |
am sure. This is exactly what We as
dairymeu must do before the cost of
production will noticeably decrease.
The following are some of the rules for
herd testing, and will give an idea of the
amount of work and equipment neces-
sary to carry on the work:
/. Each cow should be given num-
Der or name; numbers are much sim
pier. list of the names and numbers
should be preserved, so that there will
be NO confusion at successive tests. The
numbers should never be changed, cows
sold and dead being represented by miss
ing numbers.
2. A spring balance scale to weigh
pounds and tenths of pounds is prefer
red to one weighing pounds and ounces.
8. Weigh and sample the milk from
each COW for definite number of milk
ings; seven days or fourteen consecutive
milkings is a good time.
4. Weigh accurately and be sure to
record the weight under the proper col
umn on the record sheet.
3. Prepare sample bottles, one for
each COW to be tested, labelling each bot
tie for one COW. Place in each bottle
poison tablet, which keeps the sample
from souring, but does not affect the
test.
6. As soon as the milk is weighed,
take sample dipper, and, after revolving
il in the milk two or three times, take
dipperful and place in the bottle bear
ing the cows number.
7. The sample must be taken from
the complete milking and not from any
one part, as the milk drawn at different
times at the same milking varies to a
great extent.
s. At the end of the week when the
samples are tested the weight of milk is
known, the fat is known and the pounds
of butter-fat can be easily computed.
From these figures, if the cows are sam.
pied and tested once week, the work
of each cow can be closely estimated for
each month and the entire year.
0. Keep a simple set of books. Know
just what each COW is doing as accurate
ly as the average business man knows
what each branch of his particular busi-
ness is doing. Does each COW pay for
her keep? Does the whole herd pay?
A few dollars spent in keeping system
matte records will enable you to increase
the average production of your herd
from ten to fifty dollars, and this means
several hundred dollars year. Profit
will accumulate as the herd improves.
10. Have scales, test bottles aud all
sheets, ETC., arranged as conveniently as
possible, allowing the work to be done
in the shortest time.
The daily weighing of the milk in it.
self more than pays for the time and
labor by the increased interest which
the boys and hired men take in their
work. The mixers try to get a little
more each time, which of itself tends to
make the cow give more. 1t also en-
ables the farmer to know daily the exact
condition of his cows as regards health,
and to tell on which cows the extra food
pays and on which not. Imagine the
surprise of Mr.. Edward after weighing
his cows milk for one year-the value is
at S2 per 100 10, the profit or loss is
computed at the rate of S75 to feed one
COW: