275] THE PRODUCTION OF BUTTER 5 ! 



farmers recognize the fact that it is impossible to deter- 

 mine, the relation of cost to income of their various prod- 

 ucts unless accurate records are kept. Many members of 

 cow-testing associations have found that their notions as 

 to the value of individual cows in their herds were alto- 

 gether wrong. It would appear, therefore, that the sys- 

 tematic method used in these associations will in time cause 

 farmers to extend the idea of keeping records to other 

 farm operations. The keeping of records in dairy farming 

 has led to scientific feeding, weeding out the " boarder 

 cow," and breeding up the herd. The results of feeding a 

 balanced ration are realized at once. Much may be done 

 by disposing of unproductive cows and getting good ones. 

 Naturally, however, there is a limit to this method, because 

 good cows must first be bred before the whole community 

 can be supplied. It takes a few years until profits are real- 

 ized from scientific breeding, and this fact tends to check 

 the improvement of herds. Breeding up the herd, however, 

 offers great possibilities, and any enterprising dairy farmer 

 realizes that this is what he must do if he would increase 

 his profits beyond the limitations of the scrub cow. Scien- 

 tific breeding in every community of America and other 

 dairy countries of the world will very appreciably increase 

 the food supply of the people, and will therefore have very 

 important social results. 



In Table no. 3 the yearly averages per cow of the Mich- 

 igan Newaygo County Dairy Testing Association * are 

 given. This is a record of the first four years' work of 

 this association and shows that both the percentage of the 

 fat in the milk and the quantity of milk have been very sub- 

 stantially increased. The profits of each cow have steadily 

 increased, and during the four years have been practically 



1 Vide, Circular 179, Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S. Department 

 of Agriculture, p. 16. 



