Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1916-08-25
WINTER DAIRYING AT PROFIT.
Significant Facts Revealed by Records
of Cow Testing Association in North
western States.

OF COW resting ASS0C1atlon In N0rtn-
western States.
When asked why they preferred to
have all their cows freshen in the
spring, number of farmers in north
western state said positively that win
ter dairying did not pay in that see
ton. The agent of the cow-tcsting assoc
citation, therefore, investigated q num-
Der of farms to determine whether it
was the best practice in that region to
have cows frcshen in the spring be-
cause there is then plenty of grass, and
"grass is Il cheap feed" lie found that
the spring frcshened cows gave milk
for a time while the pasture was good,
but as hot weather and flies came on,
the flow gradually decreased until by
fall they usually were dry. AS the own
crs thought it did not pay to feed n
dry cow, the cows were allowed to
browse around all the fall, picking up
what feed they could, and in many
cases they were forced to "rustle'
around the straw pile all winter. As n
result, in the spring many cows emerged
with ribs showing and were consider
ably weakened by the time they fresh
cned. They therefore got poor start
in the season, and in many cases their
milk records the following year were
still lower. 1t was not surprising, the
agent points out, that the average COW,
so mishandlcd, could produce only about
100 pounds of butter fat n year.
Many so-callcd scrub cows, the agent
points out, if freshened in the fall and
given the right kind of feed and treat
mcnt during the winter before coming
on grass for the latter part of their
lactation period would prove to be
money makers. This opinion seems to
be supported fully by the records of
the cow-testing association in the same
general locality. These records show
that the average farm COW that fresh
ems in the fall not only produces more
milk and fat, but also is more profitable
to keep. In one county many cows which
frcshened in the fall won place ON
the association S honor list for January
and continued to produce heavily dur
ing the winter When grass came in the
spring these same cows picked up their
naturally waning milk flow and finished
up with good yearly production be-
fore going dry late in summer. What
is still more important, however, from
the profit point of view, is that the fall
frcshened COWS produced the larger part
of their records while milk prices were
best. With the common idea that
"grass is cheap feed therefore,
this agent would couple the fact that
"butter fat is usually cheap at the
same time"
The highest January record of this
association was made by a cow which
produced 1,730 pounds of milk, or APP
proXimately 200 gallons. 81 per cent
test, or Ga pounds of butter fat. Her
milk, however, was sold ON city milk
route and brought 90 cents Il gallon,
or approximately $40 for the month.
On the other hand, if the owner had
sold his product on a butter-fat basis
he still would have received $500. AS
it costs him $5.37 to feed the cow, his
profit on a butter-fat basis would have
been $1}.S3.
On this farm the cows get practically
all the alfalfa hay and corn silagc that
they will eat up clean, and in addition
IA grain mixture of equal parts of rolled
oats, bran, and shorts. Each of the
heavier producers gets about ten pounds
IF this mixture daily. In addition to
icing well fed, the cows stand com
fortably sheltered in warm barn most
Of the time and have access to plenty
Of good water.
During the month six cows in this
herd averaged 54.S pounds of butter
fat, worth more than $40, while the
feed cost was approximately $5.37
apiece. The records kept by the cow
tester gave the dairyman exact know
ledge of the cost of feed and produc-
ton in the ease of each animal, aud
thus enabled him to Gull out sFboard-
crs' and regulate his feed in proper
ton to the milk production Of each
cow. The association record for the
farmer, however, seemed to establish
the fact that, in the region mentioned,
winter dairying can be made to pay.