CHAPTER XXII 



FEEDS FOE THE DAIRY COW 



I. CARBONACEOUS CONCENTRATES 



The numerous studies of the cost of milk production which have been 

 carried on by the experiment stations and other agencies during recent 

 years have shown that on many farms, even where well-bred dairy cows 

 are kept, milk has been produced at little or no profit to the owner. Yet, 

 by a wise selection of feeds and intelligent feeding, other dairymen se- 

 cure goodly profits from cows no better. This shows emphatically that 

 the feeding of the herd must be given most careful study and the system 

 of farming so planned that a ration both well-balanced in nutrients and 

 otherwise satisfactory may be provided at minimum expense. 



575. Indian corn. Thruout the corn belt Indian corn, a grain highly 

 relished by the cow, is usually the cheapest carbonaceous concentrate 

 available for the dairy herd. Corn meal is very palatable to dairy 

 cows and may well form a large part of their concentrate mixture, for 

 it is rich in digestible carbohydrates and fat, needed in large amounts 

 in milk production. However, in feeding corn its limitations should 

 always be clearly realized; i.e., that it is low in protein and mineral 

 matter, especially lime, and that it is a heavy rather than a bulky feed. 

 For these reasons corn should always be fed with sufficient protein-rich 

 feeds to balance the ration. Also, it is best to use it as only part of the 

 concentrates, along with bulkier feeds like wheat bran or ground oats. 



The poor results which follow when corn is fed in an unbalanced 

 ration are shown in a trial by Fraser and Hayden at the Illinois Sta- 

 tion 1 in which one lot of cows was fed for 131 days on corn as the only 

 concentrate, with timothy hay, corn silage, and only a small amount of 

 clover hay as roughage. Another lot was fed the well-balanced ration 

 shown in the table. 



Corn requires supplement for feeding dairy cows 



Nutritive Average daily yield 



Average ration ratio Milk Fat 



Lbs. Lbs. 



Lot I, balanced ration 

 Ground corn, 3.3 Ibs. Clover hay, 8 Ibs. 

 Gluten feed, 4.7 Ibs. Corn silage, 30 Ibs 1: 6 30.1 0.96 



Lot II, unbalanced ration 

 Ground corn, 8 Ibs. Timothy hay, 5 Ibs. 

 Clover hay, 3 Ibs. 



Corn silage, 30 Ibs 1 : 11 20.5 0.69 



m Bui. 159. 



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