The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1918-11-08
FIND OUT WHAT
EACH COW GIVES
Feeds Are Costly and Scarce, SO
Don't Waste Them on Un-
profitable Animals.
DISCARD ALL THE BOARDERS
Make Every Pound Of Grain Produce
Maximum Amount Of Milk-Inten-
sive Use Of Scales and Bab-
cock Test Favored.

A fire will not burn without fuel, an
engine refuses to run without oil, and
dynamo balks sans power. The
farmer who tried to winter his horse
without feed evidently is not convers-
ant with these facts. Hence the horse
died. Similarly the dairyman who
tries to produce a regular and gener-
Gus flow of milk from herd that is
fed on "a hit-Or-miss, hand-to-mouth
style Of ration, lives to learn. There
are many Improbable dairy cows in
the country today because farmers are
wasting labor and feed in attempting
to transform low-producing cows into
wage-earners or because dairymen are
underfeeding the productive and over
feeding the shirker animals In their
herds.
During the period of the war, with
grains in limited supply and high
priced, the maximum or care should
be exercised to prevent the waste of
any of these valuable materials. Under
existent conditions all farm roughages
Dt uilliEtu W Tic lullCot tAlChl
consistent with economic production.
However, it is the height Of folly to
starve the deserving dairy cows in or
der to save grain. Good cows must
be fed and fed well. Every effort
should be exer,ed to produce as much
milk as possible and still to maintain
the cows in the pink of productive
condition. Feed the profitable cows
to capacity according to their produc-
ton. Gull the Improbable cows from
the herd Immediately. The manufac-
ture Of beef in the dairy barn does
not pay even in view of the high
prices which fat cows now bring for
butcher disposition.
Know What Each Cow Yields.
Every dairyman should know the
daily production of ench COW in bis
herd. Such knowledge can be gained
only by the intensive use Of the scales
and the Babcock test. This Is the
era of the contrasting association, as
such cooperative work is effective in
the detection OF Improbable cows as
well as In properly regulating the
amount Of feed which should be sup
piled to each COW in the herd. The
show that during two-year period the
cows which received 1000 pounds of
concentrates yielded an average in.
come above the cost of feed of $33 an
animal, while the cows which were
fed between LOO and 1900 pounds OF
concentrates yielded an income in ex
cess of feed costs of $40. The animals
which were fed over 1900 pounds OF
concentrates earned a net Of S55 @
head over feed cost. These figures
illustrate the value Of better cows
and better systems Of feeding accord
ing to production.
The average of the records Of 4C
contrasting associations shows rapid
advance in income over cost of feed
as the quantities Of grain fed In
creased. In this instance the cost OF
concentrates for the first lot Of cows
was 81 apiece, while their income over
cost of feed was SIS. The concentrates
for the best lot of cows cost $3S, while
their net earning capacity was Sis. In
a word. 1t would require n herd of %
cows similar to those In the first group
to produce as much income over cost
of feed as was produced by the aver.
age COW of the last group.
A common fault which exists among
many dairymen who are unfamiliar
with the value Of cow-testing work Is
that they fail to feed grain to their
dry cows while many Of them do not
even feed balanced ration to the
best of their cows. When grain is
fed 1t is dished up with a scoop shove
and all the cows are fed alike regard
less Of production. Under such @
method of management good cows arc
underfed while comparatively worth