The Lynden tribune. [volume] (Lynden, Wash.) 1908-current, 1922-04-27
USE A BETTER SIRE; 1T
PAYS, SAYS DAIRY EXPERT

as follows in a special article
prepared for The Tribune by
Prof. l.. E. Carter, now field man
and feed expert for the Albers
Brothers Milling Company:
There is one sure way to meas
ure success in handling cows.
Pride In the business is this final
yard-stick. Il one is getting along
well, there is glow of genuine
achievement. Financial success,
however, is not all. 1t is reflect
ed in the talk II the neighbors.
II ones fellow breeders look
up to a dairyman's methods az
those of leader. one is ascend
ing the steps to genuine accom-
plishment. This feeling of getting
somewhere is what kills the slav-
ish hours and emissions the hours
of work and study.
Dairying is really an exacting
business. He who thinks it either
gamble or a get-rich scheme
of ensnaring dollars is fore-doom-
ed to a dismal awakening. The
dairy farm pays like a bank
with interest on money invested
over a long period Of time. 1t
must be run by a business man
who awaits returns from invest
ments rather than from his "cats
and dogs" The COW is for the
farmer who is willing to work
today and wait for the returns
1t is a business-like, bank-like
transaction from every angle
This puts the COW in the machine
class, and the dairy farm becomes
factory.
The dairy cow is, from a bust
ness standpoint. machine Of pro-
duction. However, every COW is
not a dairy COW. That is where
the matter of breeds and breed
ing plays big. Invest in heredity
and type in making your selec
/ tions. Furthermore, every DAIRY
COW must have the right kind OF
care and food, for the margin
between cost and profit in milk
production is small indeed. Love
and kindness, likewise. are essen
tials of those dairymen who have
made conspicuous successes III the
ranks of farm notables. These
4 two latter characteristics bring
out the latent qualities Of the
champion performers.
Every man can not start out
slam-bang with pure-breds. 1t IL
doubtful if pure-breds are always
the biggest money-making mach
ines for the quick dollar. The
amount of canital invested n,"si
be first consideration, too. Pure
breds are fast costing money. A
lot of money goes only a little
way in purchasing high class
stock. But one can always get 6
good bull to head the females
Do away with the scrub or grade
bull. He is weakling by an!
business standard. Scrub breed
ing retards progress and pride
in any farm community. The sire
is always more than one-half Of
the herd. Careful selection of g
bull for vigor, masculinity an6
breed type at a fair figure is the
prime element in founding a good
dairy string. Personal appear
ance of sire is Of equal ranl
as pedigree. Do not be overly
impressed by pedigree. 1t IL
only barometer telling probabil.
tiles for increased milk and but.
ter-fat production. The animal
is the thing more important than
the pedigree.
Just as correct breeding should
be carefully looked into, SO also
is there room for interesting
| speculation as to ones feeding
operations. 1t is generally con-
ceded that feed costs are one-hali
the costs of milk production. II
the money invested in farm land
barns and good livestock is to
pay to capacity, certainly there
must be no waste nor incorrect
estimates of food values. BY buy
ing concentrates on the basis of
food-unit value, the modern dairy
man supplements the grains and
roughage or pasture of his farm.
1t is like buying ingredients for
re-moulding in a factory. To buy
feeds properly is the big item in
this connection.
Most dairymen do not feed
enough. Their cows, or machines
of production, are not working
to capacity. Therefore, their
overhead eats up any profits Of
production, what little there is.