The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1917-03-22
4 RTICLES OF INTEREST TO FARMERS.
Profitable and Improbable Cows.

Profitable and Improbable Cows.
How many farmers know approximat-
ely how much milk or butter fat each
of their cows give and the cost of this
production? 1t seems strange that so
few men take the trouble to know
these things when they have such an
important bearing on the profits of
the farm. We ought to find out what
our herds are doing.
Some Cow Figures: There are now
in Minnesota 1,125,O0O cows from
which 12O,O0O,000 pounds of butter are
made. Many of these cows return less
than the cost of feed and nothing for
their care and milking. Many hours
OF needless work are spent feeding
and milking Improbable cows; some
dairymen seem to be so anxious to
milk cows that they do not figure on
costs and returns.
Wisconsin Investigates: In no other
business do we find such a variation
in profits as in dairying. Hoards
Dairyman (Wisconsin) made an in
vestigation and found that out of 100
creamery patrons 3S keeps cows at an
actual loss. One made $3.50 and one
lost so cents on every dollar invested
in feed.
The same investigator brought out
the fact that farmers who bought and
fed mill feed received $1.57 income for
every dollars worth of feed and those
who relied on farm grown grain and
bought no feed received $1.45 for each
dollars worth of feed fed. This inves-
tigation would seem to indicate that
cow will repay the owner for money
spent in purchasing high priced feeds.
We must not forget, however, that if
the cows are no good, there will be no
profit in spite of the best feeding and
management.
Minnesota Records Low
Government records will show that
the average Minnesota cow will pro-
duce in one year between $50 and 100
pounds of butter fat. A great many
cows do not produce $40 worth of but
ter fat in a year; some cows bring in
500, while the average sale of but
ter fat per cow per year in Minneso-
ia is $35 to $40. A good dairyman
should get $50 to $50 per cow. To the
above incomes we must add the value
of the calf and manure produced.
1t Costs $50 to Keep q Cow in MINI.
Including everything, as business
farmer should, it costs about $50
year to keep a cow in Minnesota. THIS
is made up of the following items:
1. Time caring for cow feeding,
milking, cleaning out barn, etc., Is
days of 10 hours each at $3.50 per day
amounts to $3.50. -.,.-, ----,.,--, ----.
2. Cost of feed and pasture( aver
age Minnesota condition) $50 per
year. If to this we add taxes, inter-
est on investment, depreciation, etc.,
it will bring the total up to $50. -
The question may now be asked,
why is not the average dairyman in
the state bankrupt when the average
cow returns only $35 to $40 year,
while it costs $50 to keep her?
Where the Difference Comes In
In the first place most farmers are
not paying cash for the Is days labor
it takes to care for a cow a year. The
cows are often MIXED and cared for
by members Of the family or the man
himself who would often be idle if he
had no cows to milk. The work with
the cows is usually done before and
after what we term "the regular work
of the day."
Second: He usually does not figure
any interest on his investment. He
may have eight or ten hundred dollars
invested in cows and unless he Dor
rowed this money he overlooks the
fact that it would bring or per
cent elsewhere.
A third reason why he can figure
that he comes out ahead is that as a
rule mostly farm grown feeds are fed
thus there is practically no cash out
lay for feeds. In fact taxes are often
the only real cash outlay he has.
EulOgy on the Cow.
"No other animal works for man
both day and night. She has gone with
man from Plymouth Rock to the set
ting sun. 1t was her sons that drew
the prairie schooner for the sturdy
pioneer, as inch by inch they fought
to prove that Westward the Star of
Empire Takes It's Way AS the old
cow grazed along behind and when
the days march was done she came
and gave the milk to fill the mothers
breast to feed the sucking babe that