580 IOWA DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE 



of their time to educating their brother farmers in better methods and 

 giving them the benefit of valuable experience. The Dairy Department of 

 the Iowa State College has also given assistance from time to time. 



The results of the work, although somewhat slow, are gratifying. low?, 

 is gradually taking her rightful place among the dairy states. System 

 is being introduced and the unprofitable animals are being replaced by 

 the dairy breeds. The silo is considered a necessity and the legumes are 

 found in many places where formerly less valuable crops grew. The in- 

 troduction of the pure bred sire, economical feeding and intelligent care 

 are revolutionizing the industry. Following these improvements as a 

 natural sequence come the substantial farm buildings and attractive homes 

 which make a permanent agriculture. 



SUGGESTIONS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF DAIRYING IN IOWA. 

 (Prepared for use in this report by E. S; Estel, State Dairy Expert.) 



Iowa is essentially a dairy state. This is true because of the adapta- 

 bility of the soil for growing all of the necessary feeds for the large and 

 economical production of milk. As a dairy production state we stand 

 third. During the ipast year the creameries of Iowa manufactured 96,953,- 

 183 pounds of butter, exclusive of the milk required for cheese making, 

 market milk supply and ice cream. 



Although we have this large production of dairy products, there is a 

 great deal of room for building up the industry. The cow, which is the 

 foundation of all dairying, has not received the proper attention or care, 

 and as a result the average production is much lower than it should be. 

 The subject of improving the dairy herds of the state is of vital interest 

 to every farmer and dairyman. 



WHY AND HOW TO TEST THE COWS. 



There are two classes of unprofitable cows being milked at the present 

 time. To the first class belong those that do not bring the owner a profit 

 because they are not fed or handled properly. The other class is com- 

 posed of those that do not pay for the feed they consume because of their 

 inability to ^produce a large quantity of milk, regardless of how they are 

 cared for. To the latter group belong the robbers of our good and poor 

 herds as well. 



There are a million and a half cows furnishing butterfat for the cream- 

 eries of the state, and five hundred thousand, or one-third of the total 

 number, are being kept at a loss. Undoubtedly two-thirds, or over three 

 hundred thousand, of the unprofitable animals belong to the class of which 

 I wish to speak. The average production of butterfat in our state is only 

 140 pounds. While there are many individuals that are producing from 

 two to five times this amount they are dragged down and humiliated by 

 their neighbors. If we were to visit three-fourths of the herds in Iowa 

 we would undoubtedly find in each two cows, standing side by side, under 

 the same conditions, appearing in general conformation to be the same. 

 If we should test these cows we would find one producing three or four 



