The Lancaster news. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, 1916-09-15
FEEDING DAIRY COWS
FOR MILK and PROFIT
Cow Should Be Fed Sufficient
Balanced Ration to Produce
Maximum Amount of Milk
Clemson College. S. C,

NlthlNOH IOLIeBS, -. y,
Liberal feeding OF dairy cows is nee.
essary for profitable production. Cows
are feed for two purposes; body main.
'enance and milk production. A great
many farmers in South Carolina keep
cows which are fed only sufficient
feed to enable them to perform their
own functions, such as heating the
body, pumping the blood. digesting the
feed and moving about. Cows fed only
such maintenance rations" are nee.
essarily money losers or 'boarders -
The cow can produce milk without los )
II body weight only after she has been
led sufficient amount to maintain
ler body functions. and surplus
rom which TO manufacture the milk.
The maintenance ration Is a fixed
'harge, and the more feed a COW can
consume above that required for main
tenance, the greater the amount OF feed
available for milk production.
From the standpoint OF economical
production. one can afford to give q
cow all the feed she will consume
without gaining In weight and no
more. a good COW will generally lose
in weight in the early part OF the lac
'atiOn period and gain in the latter
part. Such COWS snOuld be fed lib
orally with the assurance that they
will pay for the extra feed during the
next lactatlon period
The most common mistake made in
this state Is that OF not feeding the
ows in summer when on pasture.
Even with the vc"y best pasture a
cow cannot give her maximum produc-
ton on pasture alone. Cows giving 30
pounds or more OF milk should have at
least pounds OF grain feed even when
on the best pastures. Whsn pasture
Is poor and flies are bad the COWS will
return profit on more grain feed than
the above. and should receive IT, The
best dairymen iii the state are begin.
ming TO realize the value OF summer
silage and are building silOs OF small
diameter for summer feeding When
the grass Is short and flies worry the
cows so that they cannot feed as they
should on grass, a silo for summer
feeding is good insurance II il ia
found unnecessary TO use the silo dur.
ing the summer, II can be sealed up
and ME slage fed the following winter
The best roughage feeds to be fed
with silage in this state are alfalfa
crimson clover, vctch, cowpea hay and
soy bean hay All OF the above feeds
are legumes, and contain a high per.
centage OF protein, a very necessary
element in milk production
Cotonseed meal. peanut meal wheat
bran and corn meal are the most com
mon grain feeds used In the South OF
these, the value OF wheat bran used
with cottonseed meal ia probably the
least appreciated This IS a bulky
feed. has a laxative effect Che opposite
OF the cotton seed msaD, and contains
lime. potash and phosphorous which
go 10 build up the cows body. None
OF the above grain feeds should be fed
alone. They should be mixed in order
70 get balanced ration. Cows should
receive l pound OF the grain mixture
TO pounds OF milk produced daily. OF
approximately 3 pounds OF grain feed
70 a gallon OF milk This. with all the
good roughage they will consume will
give COW sufficient feed nutri ents
for maximum economic production.