The Lamar register. [volume] (Lamar, Colo.) 1889-1952, 1913-06-11

because of poor cows, poor feeding,
poorly chosen crops,or through poor
Management. or a combination of
these. | also know many dairymen
who started with nothing and at
the present time have good farms,
which they have paid for by the
sale of dairy products.
One man owned a farm OF 100
acres. He kept 20 cows and en-
ployed two men to help him in the
work. The expenses so greatly ex-
ceeded income that the farm was
finally lost. Then the farm was
purchased by another man. He kept
three hired men and 63 cows on the
thirty cans of milk a day during
the flush of the season. His milk
for one month, shortly after he be-
gan. brought $s40. This is an ex-
ample of brain fertility. not soil
fertility, for the soil was the same.
AS a broader illustration of the
great difference between dairymen
in their ability to make money. the
following figures are taken from ac-
tual records collected during the
past year from more than 300 dairy
farms of all grades in one commun-
ity:
Three dairymen made more than
$4,000 above all expenses. including
interest on the investment; eight.
including the first three. made more
than $4,000; and twenty made more
than $4,000. Two dairymen lost
more than $500 each and ten. in
Guiding the two biggest losers. lost
more than $1,000 each. There was a
actual difference in earning capac-
ity between the highest profit and
the greatest loss of more than
5000 There is a difference be-
tween the eight highest and ten
lowest of more than $4,000 each an
nually.
Let us see. then. where the
leak in milk production occurs and
how they may be prevented. Since
the efficient dairy COW is the foun-
dation of the whole commercial
dairy industry and the chief factor
in making money, she will be dis
cussed first. The actual relation
of the efficiency of the individual
COW to the real profits is little
realized.
Every dairyman should ask him.
self of every COW in his herd these
questions: How much milk and
how much butter fat does she pro-
duce a year? What is the cost Of
her feed for one year? OF the la
Dor? OF both? How much is she
worth to me? Are the net returns
so low that she should be replaced.
Striking differences exist in the
productiveness of individual cows.
As an illustration look at the rec
ords of two cows in the University
of Illinois dairy herd:
Cow A in 12 years produced ST.
1O2 pounds of milk and 431S
pounds of butter fat, an average. in
Guiding time dry, of 1888 pounds
of milk and $50 pounds of fat. In
her best year she gave 11.146
pounds of milk and 5S1 pounds Of
fat. Although a grade COW she
produced more than 1872 pounds of
butter fat during So different weeks
of her life. This Is the production
record required for the admission
of pure-bred Holstein-Friesians to
the Advanced Register of that
hr.ed
On the avergae dairy farm Cow
would have returned ID profit OF
SAT a year. or for the I2 years
1854 clear profit above paying for
her feed, housing and care. She
was bought for $50 when 4 years
Did, and ha, only ordinary treat
old. and had only ordinary treat
ment-no better than she would re
markable as is the performance, OF
this grade COW. she is not heralded
as standing apart in unapproachable le
splendor, but only as a great leader
of the thousands of money making