The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1920-10-22
COUNTY AGENT NOTES
Fall and Winter Feeding of Dairy
Cows.

Fall and Winter Feeding of Dairy
Cows.
AS nearly every farmer keeps one
or more dairy cows for his family $
use, the kind and amount of feed used
should be of great interest. Success
full feeding of dairy cows from an &C.
onomic standpoint involves the pro
viding of an abundant supply of pal
atable, nutritious feed, at the mini
mum cost per unit of feed, and sup
plying it to the cow in such way as
to secure the larges production for
feed consumed.
Al certain amount of feed is re-
auired for the maintenance of the
dairy COW Just as certain amount OF
fuel is necessary to run a machine it
self which is not in any sense produc-
tive. This maintenance ration is that
portion of the feed given the COW
which is used by her to perform her
own functions, such as heating the
body. pumping the blood, digesting
the feed, and moving the body from
place to place. To produce and to
keep up in flesh, a COW must have
more than this maintenance ration.
The more of proper feed cow eats,
in addition to this maintenance ra-
ton, the more she has left for pro-
duction.
Corn silage is an excellent feed for
the driay COW, yet it is not balanced
ration, as it does not contain sufficient
protein and mineral matter to meet
fully the requirements of the cow.
The leguminous hays in addition to
being very palatable, have a tendency
to correct this deficiency. They are
also one of the best and cheapest
sources of protein. One or more of
these hays can be grown on any farm,
and in addition to their value for
feeding purposes, they improve the
soil in which they are grown.
From six to twelve pounds of dry
roughage day should be fed each
cow, in addition to silage. While a
cows stomach is large and her whole
digestive system is especially design
ed to utilize coarse feeds, there is a
limit to the bulk that she can take. A
ration may contain the proper proper
tions of protein and carbohydrates
and still be sobulky that she cannot
handle it. She, therefore, should have
some grain, even though the rough
age in itself is balanced ration.
The cow takes into her digestive
system, feeds which she utilizes for
the production of body tissues, heat
ing the body, performing bodily func-
tions, such as digesting feed, moving
from place to place, and for milk pro-
duction. These constituents are class
ified into proteins, carbohydrates and
fats. Fats perform much the same
functions as carbohydrates and are
worth for production practically two
and one-fourth times as much per
pound as carbohydrates, and in bal
ancing of ration, are usually classed
with them. A "balanced ration" is a
ration containing these various nu-
trients in the proportion the COW
needs them.
The economical Importance of bal
anced ration is evident. The cow can
use only certain elements or COM
pounds in certain proportions; conse-
quently, if the ration supplies an ex-
cessive amount of any one, the excess
is liable to be wasted. Not only is
this true, but as the cow has to assim-
ilate it, even though she cannot use
it, her capacity for production is re-
duced.
In making ration, cost is one of
the important factors. The best prac-
tice is to compound grain mixture
so that it will balance with the home
grown roughage. With this in mind,
the separate grains should be selected
to supply the necessary nutrients at
the lowest possible COST For this,
not only the price per hundred pounds
but also the relative cost of each con-
stituent, especially protein, must be