New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1917-10-12
ALL cows ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM.

ALL cows ARE N
prepared by the United. States Depart
ment Of Agriculture.)
The percentage of butter fat In mill
cannot be determined from the appear
ance Of the COW and 1t cannot b.
changed greatly by care or feeding
Good care and feeding increase thu
quantity Of milk given by the COW
hence the total butter fat produced II
increased. The percentage of buttel
fat, however, remains fairly constant
for each individual, except that varia'
tons may occur with the period Of lac
tation, the first and last parts Of the
milking, and the age Of the COW.
Calculation Of Records.
The daily weights Of milk produced
by each COW are added and the total
for the month multiplied by the per.
centage Of butter fat in the milk to
obtain the amount Of butter fat pro-
duced during the month. For exam.
pie, the cow Fannie gave 1.105.d
pounds Of milk in January, 1915. and
It tested 40 per cent. Then 1,1O5.6 x
40 per cent 54.17 pounds Of butter
fat.
The next step is the calculation Of
the value Of the butter fat, which in
this case was IS cents per pound. Thus
Fannie produced SALT pounds of but
ter fat, worth $1S.98. Similar calcu-
lations are made for the other cows
and entered on the milk sheet.
The value Of the skim milk Is deter
mined by calculating the skim milk as
80 per cent of the whole milk and CIV
ing it a value Of 25 cents per 100
pounds. Thus, Fannie Is credited with
1884 pounds of skim milk, which is 80
per cent Of 1,1O5.6, worth 1921.
The value Of the skim milk is added
to the value Of the butter fat, and the
total cost Of the feed consumed is
deducted to obtain the profit over the
cost Of the feed. Thus Fannie's but
ter fat was worth $3.50, and the skim
milk. 1921, a total of $21.17. Deduct
ing the cost of her feed, 1873, leaves
1884 profit in January. This COW has
a good dairy conformation, a we'll
shaped udder, and good barrel capac-
ity, indicating that she a turn large
quantities of roughage into milk.
Diamond, No. 81, shows a profit Of
1924 OF only about half as much as
Fannie. We must, take into consid-
Grafton, however, the fact that Fannie
had but recently freshened, while Dia-
mond was well along In her lactation
period.
Diana, No. 81, shows a much
smaller profit. namely, $3!01, although
she produced within 6 pounds of the
quantity Of milk produced by Diamond.
This Is due to the fact that her milk
tested IL per cent less. which made a
difference of Z pounds Of butter fat
for the month, and that she consumed
more feed than Diamond.
Pet, Nc. 81, produced only 451 pounds
of milk. but 1t tested Sc per cent, max.
ing 1920 pounds of butter fat. She
ate less, SO that her feed cost was
$5.13 as compared with $40 for
Diana. With a high percentage of but
ter fat In her milk, and a smaller
quantity Of feed consumed, her profit
was $4.61 for the month.
Myrtle was near the end of her lac
tation period, so that her feed cost
was $1.55 more than the value Of the
milk produced. She has poor dairy
conformation and judged only by her
January record might have been elm
mated from the herd. It must be
noted, however, that she wal nearly
dry. During the year she never pro-
duced a very large quantity Of milk at
q milking, but she was a persistent
mixer, so that in profit over cost OF
feed she stood second in the herd.
Ellen was dried of early in the
month, and although the cost Of her
feed was only $2.72, her loss for the
month was $1.41. She is more Of a
beef than a dairy type. and her record
for the year shows that she was dry
four months and produced only 1888
pounds Of butter fat.
Blanche freshened the latter part Of
the month and showed a loss Of e
cents. Her profit for the year was
only $19.45, owing to her low produc-
ton and to the large quantity Of feed
she consumed.
These records clearly show that one
months record Is not sufficient EVIL |
dence to condemn a COW, for the low
production may be due to advanced
(the COW may be nearly dry),
illness, lack Of proper feed (the pas
ture may have dried up), etc. Too Of
ten the results shown on the record
sheet fail to confirm the judgment Of
the owner.
Yearly Records.
Every month throughout the year