590 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



place of over half the grain and proved much cheaper. The silage ra- 

 tion produced milk for sixty-eight cents per 100 pounds and butterfat 

 at the rate of thirteen cents per pound. The grain ration produced milk 

 at $1.05 per hundred and butterfat for twenty-two cents per pound. 

 This made the profit per month with the silage fed $5.86 and those of the 

 grain fed $2.46, or more than doubled the income per cow. If the same 

 method of feeding was applied on the farm, undoubtedly the same re- 

 sults could be obtained. 



Experiments at the Kansas station show the results of silage fed cows 

 compared to dry fed. The herds were of sufficient size to give reliable data 

 and eliminate the individuality of the cows. The silage fed herds gave 

 seven pounds more milk in summer and 95.5 pounds more in winter 

 per month than did the dry fed cows. The butterfat also was .46 pounds 

 higher in summer and 4.61 pounds higher in winter per month in the 

 case of the silage fed herds. However, this increase in milk flow is 

 not as marked as the decrease in the cost of feed. The cows on the 

 silage ration were fed sixty cents per month cheaper than those on the 

 dry ration. The cost of producing one pound of butterfat v/as reduced 

 from thirty to twenty-one cents, which means that the silage feeder re- 

 ceives nine cents per pound more for his butterfat than the dry feeder. 



For many summers, and especially the past season, the pastures have 

 been very poor owing to dry weather in July and August. At this 

 season the milk flow drops and is difficult to be restored. The dairy- 

 men should have something to take the place of grass at this time, 

 and the use of soiling crops or silage is the only substitute. Soiling 

 crops are good, but as a rule require too much labor. They must be 

 cut every day and hauled to the cows. Besides there is necessarily a 

 great loss in being obliged to feed the crops before they fully mature 

 and after they are over ripe. 



Summing up the results of the few experiments enumerated, we find 

 that silage is not only one of the best feeds for the dairy cow, but fur- 

 nishes a means of reducing the cost of producing milk and butterfat 

 to practically one-half. It enables the steer feeder to reduce the cost of 

 producing beef to such a point which means either a profit or a loss. It 

 brings both the cows and steers through the feeding season in much 

 better condition and saves a great deal of undesirable labor during the 

 winter months. 



THE cows SHOULD FRESHEN IN THE FALL. 



Last winter the writer had occasion to visit one of the best co-opera- 

 tive creameries in northern Iowa, and while there the manager com- 

 plained that business was so slack during the winter and so exceedingly 

 heavy during the summer months. Upon looking up the records we 

 found that from November to May the creamery had purchased 78,412 



