Dairy Cattle 365 



For a 900-pound cow yielding 30 pounds of 5 per cent milk : 



POUNDS 



Silage . . 30 



Clover, cowpea, or alfalfa hay 10 



Grain mixture 11 



For the same cow yielding 15 pounds of 5 per cent milk : 



POUNDS 



Silage 30 



Clover, cowpea, or alfalfa hay 8 



Grain mixture 5 



The quantity of nutrients grown to the acre in root-crops is 

 small compared to the cost of production. However, they have 

 an advantage over silage for small herds because a small quantity 

 can be preserved and fed each day, whereas with silage a cer- 

 tain minimum number of cows must be kept in order to make it 

 practicable, since enough silage must be removed from the silo 

 each day to prevent excessive fermentation. As to the choice 

 of root-crops to grow for this purpose, mangels furnish a desir- 

 able feed for the cows and make the greatest yield. Other 

 kinds of beets and carrots are, also, good feeds. Turnips may 

 be fed, but always after milking, as they impart a bad flavor 

 to the milk if fed immediately before milking. 



Dry roughages for winter. The best dry roughages for dairy 

 cows to be fed in connection with silage or roots are hays from 

 legumes such as alfalfa, red clover, crimson clover, alsike clover, 

 cowpeas, soybeans, or field peas (grown with oats). These 

 hays add a large proportion of protein to the ration and to use 

 them cuts down the cost of this ingredient. Corn stover, 

 grass, or grain hays are often fed to dairy cows, especially when 

 the crops can be grown on the farm where fed, but as these 

 roughages are low in protein, the deficiency must be supplied 

 by the use of high-protein concentrates. The usual quantity 

 of dry roughage fed is from eight to ten pounds a day, in addi- 

 tion to the silage. 



Concentrates in the ration. A cow cannot eat enough 

 roughage to supply all the nutrients necessary for a maximum 

 flow of milk; consequently concentrates in the form of grain 



