GENERAL PROBLEMS IN DAIRY HUSBANDRY 359 



producing the small amount of milk then yielded, twice the nutrients 

 contained in the new-born calf. 



General experience has shown, as stated in Chapter XXIII, that it 

 pays to allow a cow to go dry 6 to 8 weeks before calving and to feed 

 her during this time so that she will be in fairly good flesh when she 

 calves. When this practice is followed and legume hay and some pro- 

 tein-rich concentrate are included in the ration, the requirements for 

 the building of the fetus will be amply met. 



571. Requirements for milk production Since Haecker's extensive in- 

 vestigations were carried on (182), it has been generally recognized that 

 the additional requirements of cows in milk beyond the nutrients needed 

 for mere body maintenance, depend not only on the etmount of milk pro- 

 duced, but also on its fat content. The recommendations of the various 

 feeding standards for milk production have been compared in Chapter 

 VII (182-6,189), and it has there been pointed out that more concen- 

 trates are required to meet the recommendations of the Haecker, Savage, 

 and Morrison standards than to meet the Armsby net energy standards. 



In a trial by Morrison, Humphrey, and Putney at the Wisconsin Sta- 

 tion, 52 which has been mentioned previously (186), good dairy cows pro- 

 duced 2.22 Ibs. more milk and .07 Ib. more butter fat on a ration balanced 

 according to the Savage standards than on a ration containing 3 Ibs. 

 less concentrates, which met the requirements as stated in the Armsby 

 standards. Furthermore, the cows gained slightly more in live weight 

 on the Savage ration. From his extensive investigations at the Vermont 

 Station, Hills likewise concludes that for maximum production as much 

 total digestible nutrients are required as is advised in the Savage stand- 

 ards. 



We may, therefore, conclude that unless concentrates are high in 

 price compared with roughages, it will pay to feed dairy cows of good 

 productive capacity enough concentrates to meet the recommendations 

 of the Savage standards or to bring the total digestible nutrients to the 

 higher of the two sets of figures given in the Morrison standards. When 

 concentrates are high in price, it may be more economical to feed only 

 enough concentrates to meet the Armsby standards, or enough to bring 

 the total digestible nutrients in the ration to the lower of the two figures 

 given in the Morrison standards. The amount of concentrates to feed 

 dairy cows is discussed later in Chapter XXIII. (646-7) 



573. Protein requirements. It has already been pointed out that dairy 

 cows require rations much richer in protein than do fattening ani- 

 mals or work horses, due to the large amounts of protein contained in 

 their milk. (148) Authorities differ somewhat as to the exact amounts 

 of protein advisable. While Savage recommends that dairy cows be fed 

 rations having nutritive ratios no wider than about 1 : 6, Haecker conclud- 

 ed from his trials that rations having a nutritive ratio of about 1 : 7 

 were as satisfactory as those furnishing more protein. 



5 -Wis. Bui. 323, pp. 7-8. 



