1004 Xew York State Dairymen's Association 



determine what that particular cow needs, and then supply her 

 with it and the result will be a success. When the cow is being 

 prepared to freshen w^e want to fatten her and in order to fatten 

 a cow a balanced ration would be 1 to 7 or may be 1 to S. During 

 the lirst month of the lactation period the purpose is to stimulate 

 milk production and take the fat off; then I would say a ration 

 of 1 to 5 or 4. After 30 days the cow has become poor and w^e 

 wish to keep up a certain amount of flesh, and we ought then 

 to get back to a ration of 1 to 5 or 6. And so the balancing 

 of our rations should be governed by the cow and her condition 

 rather than bv trviii"' to ffovern a cow with an arbitrary balanced 

 ration. A balanced ration is necessary, but we must determine 

 the character of it in a commonsense way. 



Voice : When a cow has ])een thrown off on her yield, what 

 is the best way to get her back as far as possible to her natural 

 milk flow ? 



Prof. Van Pelt : It is necessary to determine the cause and 

 remove it. There are different causes for cows declining in their 

 milk flow. Sometimes thev catch cold ; sometimes it is due to 

 excitement ; other times it is due to lack of feed ; and oftentimes 

 it is due to overfeeding. One would need to know what the cause 

 was. If from overfeeding I would give the cow light foods, then 

 try to bring her back gradually. But as a rule, even though the 

 causes are temporary, it will be impossible to bring the cow back 

 until after she freshens. The best time to start to accomplish 

 anything with cows is just before they freshen. 



~Mr. Eoax : Which have you found it the most profitable to 

 feed the ordinary (hiiry herd for milk production, two, three or 

 four times a day? 



Prof. Van Pelt: Under average conditions of milk produc- 

 tion, twice a day. That depends a good deal on the character of 

 the herd. Oftentimes we have herds so good that it is necessary 

 to milk them three times a day. Then I would feed three times 

 a day. 



!Mr. Eoan : I have taken that up with some of the farmers 

 in our section. I feed twice a day. Some of my neighbors 



