NORTH CAROLINA DAIRY HERD RECORDS. 



By W. H. Eaton. 

 Purpose. 



The chief purpose in presenting the yearly records given in this 

 bulletin is to furnish the farmers and dairymen of North Carolina 

 with information concerning the performance of individual cows. 

 Dairymen are too often inclined to look at the production of the herds 

 as a whole. The merits of each individual animal composing the herd 

 should receive closer attention. It is also the purpose to show the 

 general farmer who keeps two or three cows that herd record work is im- 

 portant even where only a few cows are maintained. Herds 7 and 9 

 contained three cows each and show the necessity of eliminating the 

 inferior animals if the dairy industry is to he placed on its most effi- 

 cient basis. 



Plan. 



In collecting the data given herein information on the following 

 points was sought : 



1. Annual production of milk per cow. 



2. Annual production of butter-fat per cow. 



3. Total annual value of products. 



4. Annual cost of feed per cow. 



5. Annual profit per cow. 



Location of Herds. 



The records of the herds reported in this bulletin represent work 

 done in one county of the Piedmont section of the State by the Dairy 

 Farming Division of the Department of Agriculture from September 1, 

 1911, through October 31, 1912, inclusive. 



How the Work Was Conducted. 



The dairymen were furnished regularly with daily milk and feed 

 record sheets for recording the pounds of milk yielded by each cow, 

 and the amount and kind of feed given. On the record was recorded 

 the value of the butter, skim milk, the total value of the products, and 

 the cost of feeds. Immediately after each cow was milked her product 

 was weighed and a record of the weight placed in a column below the 

 cow's name; this was done daily. Figure 1 shows a copy of the record 

 sheet used. 



The herds were visited once each month by a representative of the 

 Dairy Farming Division, who tested the milk of each cow for the per 

 cent of butter fat. Samples were taken of each cow's milk at two or 

 more consecutive milkings. These samples were put in bottles labeled 

 with the cow's name or number, and each sample tested with a Bab- 

 cock tester for the butterfat content. The records were summarized 

 each month to show the total amount of milk produced. The butter-fat 

 produced was estimated by multiplying the pounds of milk produced 

 during the month by the per cent of butter-fat. The quantity of butter 

 produced was estimated by adding to the butter-fat one-sixth of its 



