The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-12-09

Prof. G. l.. Martin Of the North Da-
kota A. c. delivered the following ex-
cellent address yesterday at the meet
ing of the South Dakota State Dairy
association convention at Aberdeen:
The dairy industry is business
with keen competition and small mar
gins. In order to increase profits, ev-
cry cowkeeper needs to increase the
output of his herd. widen the markets
for his products and shorten the disc
lance to the consumer. The farmers
of the northwest in the past have neg
lected the dairy end of their farm
work for seemingly more important
interests but the time has arrived for
the tide to return and henceforth
dairying is to claim its just share of
attention as a necessary part OF the
farm operations.
The business of economic and prof
liable milk production calls for much
knowledge Of a scientific nature. more
exacting application of business meth
DDS and greater diligence than many
other kinds Of farm work. In short,
1t requires a closer application of bus
mess IuGL1OuH ana LOL NAefL IEdS0n IL
insures more reliable, continuous and
larger returns, In dairying like every
other business an increase in produc-
lion with corresponding decrease in
the cost Of production means a great
er margin of profit.
Increasing Production.
The one thing which the farmers Of
the northwest need more than anything
foundation by getting more and better
dairy cows. After careful research it
Is estimated from the most reliable
data that there are about 21,000,0o0
dairy COWS in the United States which
produce annually on an average of
las pounds Of butter fat. Out Of this
large number OF cows, the annual pro-
duction of butter fat from the first
one third is about eighty pounds, the
second one-third about las pounds and
the last one third about 210 pounds.
From recent investigation of the feed
records from. fourteen dairy herds in
North Dakota comprising about 125
cows. the annual cost of keeping each
cow averaged from $50 to $45 which
figures compare favorably with like
reports from other parts Of the coun-
try. BY allowing the value of the
calf and the manure to offset the ex-
pense of the care of the COW. one may
see readily that with butter fat at 80
cents per pound any COW producing
less than 100 pounds of butter fat an
nually Is not returning enough to pay
for the feed she consumes while the
cow producing 145 pounds just pays
for the feed she consumes so the prof
its of the business must come from the
cow that produces around 200 pounds
of butter fat or from the last one
third of the herd.
These are facts undisputa'ble, and
the immediate problem before the
dairymen is to detect and eliminate
the scrub cow-the poor one third Of
his herd. In order to do this there is
but one reliable business-li way to
proceed and that is to employ the
scales, the tester and the record book
Every successful business man has a
ledger to guide him in his transactions
Every dairyman needs to enter sepa-
rate account with each of his cows
so that he may have an indicator to
tell him az the end of the year just
how much feed each cow has consun-
ed. the amount Of milk 1t produced and
the percentage it tests. From these
records he may know which are the
eighty pound cows that produce at a
loss, the 145 pound cows that just pay