Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1916-06-13
Why Keep Individual Records ?
MORE HAMGERMa ON A SUBJECT THAT
WILL STAND A LOT.

homesteads, on tho other hand-well, 1
10 . picture which 10 not 90 inviting; bst
roads, very poor or no fences, old, un
painted, and tumble down barns, and di
lapidated, ill-arranged houses, noted fol
their lack Of conveniences.
In those sections where the farm 40
tivities center around live stock, th,
dairy COW holds . conspicuous place
Yet, when one realizes that between
fifty and sixty per cent OF the dairy oowl
o-called) In Indiana do not return I
profit for the feed which they consume
he marvels that she should continue K
maintain this place, and that with in
creasing popularity.
The average price Of feed In the Unit
ed States has increased about fifty pei
cent during the past twelve to ffteer
years. During this same time there hal
been an increase Of only twenty per cent
In the price received for the product
while the average production per COW
has remained practically at standstill'
Therefore, with thgsbove conditions, We
frequently find dairymen everywhere
questioning whether 1t 10 . paying propo
sition. It 10 Q lamentable fact that toe
often the dsiryman does not know
whether bis whole herd 10 return
ing profit or loss, let alone the indi
vidual COWS In the herd. This last con
dition IL due to the fact that the own
or is content to Judge bis herd as unit.
II the average production Of the whole
herd is fairly good, the owner is inclined
to let well enough alone, as he thinks
that 1t will neeessitate too great an ex.
penditure on bis part to improve 1t.
With these facts in mind II seems to
us that It is time something was being
done to improve this condition. What
We want is not necessarily more and
larger herds, but better COWS and larg-
or production per cow. And we want
this increased production without Q pro-
portionate increase In the cost of pro
duotion. On our high priced lands We
have to make our COWS pay. This neces-
states knowledge Of the individual
COW in the herd. The only accurate
method Of obtaining this knowledge 10
to make proper use of the milk scale,
the Babcock fat test, and the feed record
throughout the whole laotation period.
Every man who milks COWS should keep
record of their production; this 10 the
only way to distinguish between good
and poor producers. he who does not
keep such records cannot expect to In
crease the productivity Of his herd from
year to year, for his knowledge pertain
ing to the relative excellence Of his vari-
ous COWS 10 inaccurate. 1.-THE dairy COW
is the mother of the dairy industry, and
without good mothers the industry must
fail" Poor COWS, as well % good COWS,
are to be found In practically all herds.
Every dairyman has the poor COW to deal
with, for there Is "tail end" to every
herd.
The testing of COWS is big business,
and It is getting bigger every year; 1t Is
about the greatest movement ever under.
taken for the improvement Of our dairy
cattle. Testing puts our dairy industry
on business basis; 1t then becomes .
source OF pleasure a. we'll as profit.
There is no other system Of farming that
lends itself 30 readily to tho keeping
of records 40 does dairying. We must
keep books the same % any other busi-
ness man. What should We think OF .
merchant II he conducted his business a.
most dairymen dop Dairying is q safe
and sure proposition, and the more we
put into Il the more We will get out Of 1t.
The results to be secured BY testing
are clearly shown by the result Of two
years. testing in an Indiana COW testing
association. The average butterfat pro.
duction In FIVE herds was increased S2.4
pounds per COW. This is Q remarkable
increase when you consider the fact that
at the same time there was An increase
Of thirteen In the number Of COWS kept
In these herds.
In record keeping denomination st
the Indiana State Fair Q916) the best
COW returned $2.05 worth of product for
eacn dollars worth of feed consumed a.
compared with 80 cents for tho poorest
cow. Now, II there are two elevator
men In your town and one pays only one
cent moro Q bushel for grain than the
other, you ere going to sell whore you
can get the most money. Yet you have
COWS In your herd-some Of them return
ing 25 to 80 cents more per bushel for
grain than others, arc you going to con-
tinue to sell Q dollars worth Of feed for
75 cents, or are you going to get two dol.
larr back for every dollars worth OF feed
put into the dairy oowf Why not keep
records and thereby sell your feed
through tho dairy COW for An increased
profit? :.
The outlook 10 great for the man sell
ing pure-bred stock, Notwithstanding
the fact that ct the present time, with
the breeder of pure-bred cattle, the stu
alton 10 such that he can with difficulty
sell bull II be knows nothing OF the
production OF its immediate ancestry.
And this 10 % Il should be. He must
keep records. Just for Q moment put
yourself in the place Of breeder who
wishes to buy q bull; how would you
consider the bull whose dam and gran
dams, whose sire and gfandsires have no
production recorder Are they good
producersp There are entirely too many
pure bred scrubs for breeder 70 take
such chances. How are we going to
know that the bull will improve our
herdsp These are things which We learn
by keeping records. In cow testing
associstion In northern Indiana, In herds
in which pure-bred bull was used "a
compared with herds In which no pure
bred bull was used, there WAS an aver
age difference per COW Of 1,189 pounds
OF milk and 2S q pounds Of butterfst In
favor of the herds using pure-bred
bull. Another instance q the case Of
Gorgeous Boy, . pure. bred dairy bull
vhich WAS used at Purdue Univerity.
The production Of bic daughters during
their Arst three laotation periods - com.
pared With their dams during similar
periods shows au average yearly increase
Of .S28 pounds Of milk and 102 8 pounds
of butterfat per COW. How do we know
thisP By keeping records.
There ID some objection 70 the amount
OF time required 70 weigh. the milk from
each COW; bat, What single operation on
the farm win pay larger returns for The
time spentp The expense incidental q
the keeping Of records should be copsid-
cred - m investment, and y worth
many times over its. .flrst cost. very Of.
ten : ball from tested herd can be sold
for enough moro to moro than pay. fol
ono years testing. Testing also tells ul
|, ,WhenS Eve are feeding economically. Il
the feed ID worth more than the butter