SUBSTITUTES FOR SKIMMED MILK IN RAISING CALVES 



E. S. Savage and G. W. Tailby, Jr. 



In New York State and, indeed, throughout the United States, the 

 consumption of raw milk is increasing very rapidly. Milk is consumed 

 in the cities in greater quantities every year, and in the country the 

 production of cheese is utilizing the milk from an increasing area. The 

 milk producer gets no skimmed milk from either the shipping station 

 or the cheese-factory ; therefore he must have some other food for raising 

 his calves. In order to keep up his herd and to increase the quality 

 and productive capacity of the herd from year to year, this food must 

 fully take the place of skimmed milk. Whole milk is acknowledged 

 to be the best food for calves, but the farmer cannot afford to feed this 

 to his calves for any length of time. Skimmed milk with hay and grain 

 probably makes the best substitute, but now that the supply of skimmed 

 milk is being cut off, a satisfactory substitute for it must be found. 



Several substitutes have been put on the market, said to fully take 

 the place of skimmed milk for feeding calves and to keep them in good, 

 healthy, growing condition. During the year 1907-8, this Station made 

 a trial of two of these commercial foods, namely, Lactina Suisse, a 

 vegetable milk powder manufactured in France, and Schumacher Calf 

 Meal, put out by the Quaker Oat Company of Chicago. The data secured 

 from the trial of these two foods as compared with skimmed milk were 

 not considered sufficient, so the experiment was repeated in the year 

 1908-9. However, because of some changes in the method of keeping 

 the records and because the trial was continued one month longer in 

 1908-9, it was considered best to write up the work of each year sepa- 

 rately and then to consider the results of both years in formulating the 

 general conclusions. 



Before discussing the experiments in detail, we shall note the work 

 that has been done on this question at other stations. 



TRIALS AT OTHER STATIONS 



There seems to have been very little work done on this question at 

 the experiment stations, and the literature on milk substitutes for calf- 

 feeding is scant. Mention of only three important experiments has been 

 found in the experiment station literature, and a short resume of them 

 is here given. 



Pennsylvania experiments. — The most extensive experiment was the 

 work of Hayward at the Pennsylvania Station in the fall and winter 

 of 1 90 1-2.* The feeding trial in this case was with a calf meal prepared 



* Pennsylvania Station BjiUetin No. 60. 



