CHAPTER XXIII 



FEED AND CARE OF THE DAIRY COW 



I. FEEDING FOR MILK PRODUCTION 



Every dairyman knows that it is in late spring or early summer 

 while on luxuriant pasture, that the dairy herd normally reaches the 

 maximum production for the year. To secure the largest yield during 

 the other months the summer conditions which bring about this high 

 production should be imitated as closely as possible. 1 These early sum- 

 mer conditions are: (1) a balanced ration; (2) an abundance of feed; 

 (3) succulent feed; (4) palatable feed; (5) a moderate temperature; (6) 

 comfortable surroundings; and (7) reasonable exercise. Upon the ability 

 of the dairyman to maintain these favorable conditions for his herd thru- 

 out the year, depend in large measure his profits. 



645. Feed a well-balanced ration. It has been pointed out in previ- 

 ous chapters that cows in milk need liberal amounts of protein and 

 mineral matter, especially lime, and furthermore that they require ra- 

 tions high in net energy. (147-50, 570-4) Therefore, it is folly to ex- 

 pect a large yield of milk or economical production if an unbalanced 

 ration is fed, such as corn or other grain with only such carbonaceous 

 roughages as timothy hay and corn silage. "When a ration of this char- 

 acter is supplied, much good feed is wasted thru a failure to appreciate 

 basic facts in animal feeding. (575, 623) Yet many farmers still fail 

 to realize that the small amount of time and energy spent in figuring out 

 an economical balanced ration for their herd will give the largest re- 

 turns of any investment they can make. The method of computing 

 balanced rations which are the most economical for one's local condi- 

 tions is fully explained in Chapter VIII and is discussed further in 

 this chapter. (191-6, 650-1) In any case of doubt as to what feeds to use 

 any farmer will find his agricultural college and experiment station or 

 his county agent ready to advise him. 



646. Feed good cows liberally. A good dairy cow in full flow of milk is 

 expending fully as much energy as a horse at hard work, and hence can 

 not be expected to get all her nourishment from roughages, even if of 

 good quality. How much concentrates to feed is a question of great 

 economic importance to dairymen, for in many cases roughages are the 

 cheap and concentrates the costly part of the ration. The amount of 

 concentrates advisable depends first on the quantity and quality of the 

 roughages furnished; second, on the productive capacity of the cows; 

 and third, on the relative prices of concentrates and roughages. When 



a Eckles, Dairy Cattle and Milk Production, p. 257. 



395 



