416 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



light till dark, talked it all the time ; the outcome of the thing was, 

 I built one and I want to state right here that I have never invested 

 $300 that made me any more money. A silo to the dairyman is 

 just as essential as the milk pail; in fact they go hand in hand; 

 without the silo in winter dairying you haven't much use for the 

 pail. 



I would like to know how many Missouri dairymen practice 

 what I term individual feeding of cows? Too few of us, I know. 

 There are many who feed the cow, giving 20 pounds of 4 per cent 

 milk the same as the cow giving 40 pounds of 4 per cent milk. 

 Now there is not one of us who would spend $2.00 where $1.00 

 would do if we knew it. But that is what you are doing in this 

 case, nothing more nor less. This is a case of one cow eating an- 

 other's profits. If I could only command the language I would like 

 to impress this so strongly upon your minds that you could never 

 forget it. In this instance alone there is a hole so large that every 

 dollar of profit can slip through. This young man that I have just 

 spoken of began a systematic weighing, sampling and testing of 

 each cow's milk. We had cows that we considered only fit for the 

 butcher, but as our books will now show, are among our best; 

 others that were counted good went to the butcher. You not only 

 find which are the very best ones, but this method will give you 

 an opportunity of saving heifer calves, by which you can improve 

 your herd. This does not require a great deal of your time ; once 

 or twice a month will do for all practical purposes. Now, by in- 

 dividual feeding, I do not mean that you should weigh out each 

 cow's ration separately, but class them off in four or five classes. 

 Have one class you give a 3-pound feed, another you give a 5- 

 pound feed, and so on as you find necessary. After a few times 

 you can feed this way as quickly as any other and gain unlimited 

 results. From a financial standpoint, I would like to say a few 

 words in regard to the feed the dairymen use, and I want you to 

 understand that I am opposed to the use of high-priced concentrates. 

 There is not a dairyman located on a farm in Missouri but that 

 can raise all the different feeds that go to make up a good ration. 

 Occasionally he might require a little cotton seed meal, which I 

 think is the cheapest protein feed on the market. We can raise 

 corn, oats, barley, clover, and I believe in a short time we will be 

 raising plenty of alfalfa ; if not this, I know we can raise cowpeas, 

 which is so near alfalfa for feeding that there is no perceptible 

 difference, and it has its advantages over alfalfa in this way : im- 

 mediately after taking off a crop of wheat or oats, sow one of the 



