The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1915-04-15
COW TESTING.

If we know of any merchant who
buys and sells his goods year after year
without keeping any account of course
we say he is very negligent in his bus
mess. Then, what about most farm.
ers? The larger majority by far, keep
their. COWS year after year without
knowing how much they produce nor
how much it costs to produce it.
Perhaps there are large number of
herds, not the majority however, that
do not contain single Improbable
COW. Nevertheless we do know that
some COWS are more profitable than
others. So, naturally, the aim of ev-
cry farmer ought to be to obtain a
herd of COWS, each of which is as pro-
titable or more SO than the best COW he
has now. La order to do this he must
grade up" his herd; first, by using a
good pure bred sire, and secondly, by
raising the calves from these COWS
that produce the most buttel-fat for
the amount of feed consumed.
But how is he TO determine which
COWS are the best producers Simply
by weighing and testing the milk and
weighing the feed the COW consumes.
For the average farmer the best way
to do this is to organize a Cow Testing
Association. A number of farmers get
together and organize, usually with
about twenty six mem bers. This will
give one day each month to each mem
Der This organization hires a man
who comes to the members place in
the afternoon, weighs and samples the
milk OF each COW in the evening, and
again in the morning. He also weighs
the feed of each COW, Then he tests
the milk to find the per cent of butter
average day for the month, he COM
putes the amount of milk and fat; and
by the average price OF fat he can lind
the amount of money this COW would
make for the month. Then, by sub
tracing the cost of feed he will get
the profit or loss on each COW. A
book is furnished in which each COW
has a page and on which each months
work Of each COW is recorded Then
at the end of the year each member
has an accurate record Of each COW.
In weighing the feed, each kind
should be weighed separately. Then
certain feeds can be changed, or more
or less of certain kinds of feed can be
fed and by referring to the book it can
easily be seen which gives the best re-
suits and the most profit.
The testing of the cows teaches one
to feed better, to feed a balanced ra-
ton, and 10 take better care of the
COWS. The record not only helps one to
improve the herd but it is also of great
Importance when you have COWS to
sell, provided of course that they are
good ones.
1t is only by means of just such test
ing that we can increase the produc-
ton Of butter fat prohtably. The av-
erage production of all our cows in
Wisconsin is 10 pounds Of butter fat
per year, while at the same time there
are large number of cows in our
state producing over 400 pounds of but
ter fat per year. OF course the latter
may be fed little more but the profit
in the end is far greater For exam
pie, a certain farmer increased his av.
erage production of butter fat ll3
pounds per COW, which was worth S34.
At the same time the increase in the
cost of feed amounted to only 80, so
he made S25 net profit more per COW.
It no testing association can be or
gained, the work can be done at home.
Or, where agriculture is taught in the
schools, the pupils can take the sam
pies and test them at school, thus get
ting practical work both in testing and
in arithmetic.
But il does not matter in which of
the above ways it is done, it certainly
is paying proposition. Then why
does not every farmer 90 after it in
earnest?
Herbert II. Wernecke,
Valders, Wis.