The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-05-13
FEEDING DAIRY COWS
IS AN EXACT SCIENCE
Great Progress Made Along
All Lines of Scientific
Farming.
NO LONGER A GUESS
Present-Day Methods Vastly
Superior to Those For
merly Employed.
NO LONGER A GUESS

Great have been the developments in |
every line of farming the past 10 years !
Old methods have been improved. new
methods have been invented. science
has come to play the major part In
every line of farm endeavor. In the
old days We did things because we
guessed We were right. because our
fathers had done them before us. Now.
however. we know. Science has given
us the Information, farming is less OF
Il gamble. We know the why's Of every
operation. In no one line of farm en-
deavor has this development been
greater than in connection with the
feeding and management OF the dairy
COW. In this industry for such it can
truly be called, we have perhaps the
most exact system of any line Of farm
ing. We know the conditions which
make for high milk production. we can
regulate the feed. by the Babcock test
we can adjudge the product. 1t Is no
! longer guesswork. but definite
science.
| In viewing dairying from such
viewpoint the folly Of feeding dairy
cows as aDherd rather than individuals
becomes readily apparent. And yet.
perhaps, most Of the dairy cows In the
Estate are fed on the herd basis. BY that
we mean that the cows are not fed in
dividual rations to suit their needs.
rather they are fed together, the poor
COW getting just the same amount of
feed as her richer producing stable
mate Naturally. under such a system
some cows get too much, others re-
ceive too little for the amount Of milk
they produce and still others do not
get their foods in the right proportion
Feed the cows individually. Use the
scales and the Babcock test to deter
mine the amount and quality of the
milk, and from this figure your feed
ing ration. Get the cows up to their
full milk giving capacity. 1t costs lit
tie more than where they are giving
a fraction as much, and the gain is
mostly clear profit. study those cows
as individuals. look after their needs
and their peculiarities. Cater to their
tastes. Feed them a balanced ration
that is suitable. This does not mean
that you will have to go out and buy
a lot of high priced feeds-make your
own feeds go as far as they possibly
can, or. in other words. make the most
OF the feeds that you already have on
hand. Find out how much milk each
NJ 70 r1o r.
ness in butter fat. Then feed one pound
of grain per day for each pound of
butterfat produced per week. or one
pound of grain daily for each three
pounds Of milk. The exceptions to this
are that with heavy milking Holsteins
the rule OF one pound OF grain for
every three pounds OF milk makes too
much grain and with Jersey giving
VERY rich milk it Is too little. Here
Is also another example of where indi-
vidual feeding pays. The above rules
apply only where good roushage is fed.
such rs first class alfalfa or clover and
silage The COW should be fed all the
roughage she will eat up clean. II poor
ronghage such as timothy hay or straw
Is used, more grain must be fed. An
other rule which can be applied is TO
feed all the grain a COW will eat with
out increasing in weight Thus We have
three barometers by which we can
gauge our feeding operations the
amount of milk the COW Is giving. the
amount of TAT she produces and her
weight. 1t is only by looking after these
things by feeding individually and
carefully. that the dairyman will get
the most from his dairy cows.