FOURTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART X 751 



CARE, FEED AND MANAGEMENT OF THE DAIRY HERD. 



Circular No. 16, Agricultural Experiment Station, Iowa State 



College of Agriculture and Mechanic's Arts. 



BY H. H. KILDEE. 



Dairy farming is rapidly increasing in popularity in almost every 

 section of Iowa because the dairy cow has characteristics which not 

 only give her present popularity but insure it for all time to come. 



One of the chief advantages of dairy farming is that the dairy 

 cow fits admirably in diversified and intensive farming where the 

 farmer strives to produce the greatest possible income from a small 

 acreage and yet retain the fertility of his farm. In Europe, the dairy 

 cow is the foundation of agriculture in the most prosperous coun- 

 tries, such as Denmark and Holland. Proof that she is adapted to 

 high priced land may be found on the Jersey Isle, where ground 

 rentals run from $50 to $60 per acre annually, and in Holland, 

 where farms sell up to $1000 per acre. In both places land is used 

 largely for dairy farming. In Iowa, land is constantly getting 

 dearer, yet by using silos and soiling crops, tilling the farm in- 

 tensively and purchasing some concentrated nitrogenous foods, it 

 is not out of the question to keep one cow to each acre of ground, 

 and even more under certain conditions. Poultry and swine rais- 

 ing may be carried on most successfully on the dairy farm because 

 of the feeding value of the skim milk, a valuable by-product. 

 DAIRY FARMING INCREASES SOIL FERTILITY. 



Dairy farms increase rather than decrease in soil fertility. A 

 ton of corn worth from $10 to $14 removes $8.60 worth of plant 

 food. A ton of butter worth over $600 removes only 64 cents' 

 worth of plant food. A dairy cow weighing 1,000 pounds voids 

 11 to 13 tons of solid and liquid manure each year, which is worth 

 about $25 for increasing crop yields. Many farms which were 

 formerly very poor from the fertility standpoint have been built up 

 in a few years through feeding the crops and purchased supple- 

 mentary feeds to dairy cows. 



Economy of production is another factor in favor of the dairy 

 cow. Quoting Professor W. A. Henry, "Not only is dairying the 

 leading animal industry of our country at this time, but so it must 

 continue indefinitely, for the reason that the cow is a more 

 economical producer of food for human beings than is the ox or 

 pig." And again, "for each 100 pounds of digestible nutrients 

 consumed, the dairy cow yields about six times as much edible 

 solids in her milk as the beef steer or mutton sheep in its carcass." 



In addition to being an economical producer, the dairy cow is a 

 more dependable source of profit than the beef steer, because lier 

 products are but slightly affected by market fluctuations and be- 

 cause she is a continuous source of revenue, for the cream or milk 

 checks come in at frequent and regular intervals. Then, too, there 

 is a greatly increased demand for dairy products and for grade and 

 pure bred dairy cattle, not only in the United States, but also China, 

 .Japan, New Zealand, South America and elsewhere. 



One of the strongest arguments brought against dairy farming 

 is that it is often rather diflBcult to secure competent help, It will 



