396 FEEDS AND FEEDING 



corn and other concentrates furnish total digestible nutrients nearly as 

 cheaply as do hay and other roughages, it will be most economical to feed 

 enough concentrates to meet the recommendations of the Morrison, Sav- 

 age, or Haecker feeding standards, as has been pointed out in earlier chap- 

 ters. (193, 198, 558, 573) When concentrates are unusually high in 

 price compared with roughages, as is commonly the condition in certain 

 sections of the West or as was the case during the World War even in the 

 corn-belt, then it will be more economical to feed slightly less concen- 

 trates than called for by the feeding standards. (612) For the most 

 economical production and the largest profit, cows of good dairy temper- 

 ament should generally receive at least 6 to 9 Ibs. of concentrates, in ad- 

 dition to all the good roughage, such as legume hay and corn silage, that 

 they will consume. High producers can use more concentrates with 

 profit. The dairyman who persists in giving his cows only such low- 

 grade roughages as timothy hay, corn stover, etc., must pay the penalty 

 by feeding even animals of medium productive capacity 10 to 12 Ibs. of 

 expensive concentrates daily to secure a reasonable flow of milk. 



647. Cows should be fed individually. Even when fed liberally, cows 

 of marked dairy temperament rarely lay on flesh when in full flow of 

 milk, provided their ration is well balanced. But cows of ordinary capac- 

 ity may easily be over-fed, in which case they lay on fat instead of in- 

 creasing their milk production. Since even in well-bred and well-selected 

 herds the different cows vary widely in productive ability, to secure 

 the most profit they must be fed as individuals, instead of giving both 

 high and low producers the same ration. (558) 



It is not necessary, however, to compute a balanced ration for each 

 animal. All that is needed is to determine what amounts and propor- 

 tions of roughages and concentrates should be used to make the most 

 economical ration that meets the requirements for the average cows in 

 the herd, in the manner shown in Chapters VII and VIII. In feeding 

 the herd, each cow should then be given all the roughage she will eat, 

 which will usually be the equivalent of about 2 Ibs. of dry roughage 

 daily per 100 Ibs. live weight or of 1 Ib. of dry roughage and 3 Ibs. of 

 silage. Then the amount of concentrates for each cow may be de- 

 termined from one of the following rules: 



1. Feed 1 Ib. of concentrates per day for each pound of butter fat the cow 

 produces a week, or 



2. Feed 1 Ib. of concentrates per day for each 3 to 4 Ibs. of milk, depending on 

 its richness, or 



3. Feed as much as the cow will pay for at the ruling prices for feeds and 

 products, increasing the allowance gradually until she fails to respond by an in- 

 crease in production which will cover the increase in cost. 



The first two rules apply only when the cows are fed abundant rough- 

 age of good quality, such as legume hay and corn or sorghum silage. Also, 

 to fully meet their requirements and secure maximum production, cows 

 producing 1 Ib. of butter fat a day or over will require somewhat more 

 concentrates than indicated by these thumb rules, the additional amount 



