FIFTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART VII 4 69 



Second — Albert Axelson, Red Oak — Guernsey bull calf. 



Third— William Lloyd, Red Oak— Jersey bull calf. 



Fourth — Carl Coffey, Humeston — Iowa Dairy separator. 



Fifth— Herbert C. M. Gass, Moulton— $10 in cash. 



Sixth — Latham Heskett, Promise City — Babcock tester and milk scale. 



Seventh — Miss Dorcas Manchester, Davis City — Babcock tester. 



It was a fortunate circumstance that the winners of the bull calves all 

 received their choice of breed. Mr. Leetum preferred the Holstein. Mr. 

 Axelson, the Guernsey, and Mr. Lloyd, the Jersey. Information contained 

 in the essays of all those winning prizes indicate that the calves, as well 

 as the other prizes, will be used to build up the herds represented. 



The results of the contest show that the 623 cows produced an average 

 of 404 pounds of milk and 19.6 pounds of butter-fat per month or 13.5 

 pounds of milk and .65 pounds of fat per day. The average milking period 

 as tabulated on the reports, is eight and one-half months, which makes 

 an average of 3,434 pounds of milk and 166.6 pounds of butter-fat per 

 year. The average cost of feed per month was $4.50 per cow. This in- 

 cluded dry feed two months and pasture one month. The cost of pro- 

 ducing 100 pounds of milk averaged $1.11, and of producing one pound 

 of butter-fat twenty-three cents. 



The average price received for butter-fat which was sold for the manu- 

 facture of butter was 23.5 cents per pound. This shows a profit of only 

 one-half cent per pound for the butter-fat if the skim-milk and manure 

 are allowed to balance the cost of labor, interest and depreciation. The 

 average price received for butter-fat used in ice cream making, was 

 thirty-eight cents which shows the advantage in selling sweet cream for 

 this purpose. 



The relatively low price of butter-fat, as shown by the reports of the 

 contestants, is due taainly to the lack of local markets. During the same 

 months, the price received for butter-fat in the northern half of the state, 

 was twenty-eight cents per pound. The high cost of production is ac- 

 counted for by the unbalanced rations fed. Of the 157 herds in the con- 

 test, thirty-two were receiving silage, twenty-nine alfalfa hay, and only 

 eighteen a combination of these two feeds. The amount of cottonseed 

 meal, oil meal and bran fed was small and limited to cnly a few herds. 

 The principal ration used consisted of corn and oats, mixed hay, and 

 corn fodder. 



The results of the milk record contest show the conditions as found in 

 the average small herd of milch cows in southern Iowa. They emphasize 

 the importance of getting the farmer, who milks a few cows, interested in 

 his herd. They also indicate the part these herds play in lowering the 

 production of the Iowa cow. 



ABSTRACT OF REPOKT FOR YEAR 1914-15. 



During the past year representatives of the Iowa State Dairy Associa- 

 tion have addressed 281 audiences. By means of special trains, creamery 

 meetings, farmers' institutes and other gatherings, the association has 

 reached 45,000 farmers and dairymen. 



