10 



FARMERS' MONTHLY OF HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



SKIM MILK POWDERS IN THE 



REARING OF YOUNG CALVES 



In our studies of substitutes for whole 

 or liquid skim milk in the rearing of 

 young calves, we have tried both the 

 drum dried and the spray dried skim milk 

 powders. 



Method of Manufacture of Milk Powders 

 In the spray process, the liquid milk 

 is forced under high pressure through 

 nozzles into the upper part of a heated 

 chamber. The fine spray is dried to a 

 fine powder by the time it reaches the 

 bottom of the chamber. The chief ad- 

 vantage of this pi'ocess is that the powder 

 is very readily and completely soluble in 

 water . 



In the drum or roller process, the skim 

 milk is fed from a gravity tank onto 

 steam-heated rolls. It spreads out into a 

 thin film, drying as the rolls slowly re- 

 volve. The dried film is removed from 

 the rolls by scrapers, ground, sifted and 

 packed. It is somewhat coarser in tex- 

 ture than the spray dried product and 

 does not dissolve in water as readily. The 

 manufacturers claim that the process is 

 not destructive to the vitamins in the 

 milk, especially Vitamin C. 



Preparation of Skivi Milk Poivder for 

 Feeding 

 One pound of the milk powder and a 

 scant even teaspoonful of salt are added 

 to each gallon of lukewarm water. If 

 desired, one pound of the milk powder 

 may be used to 5 quarts of water. The 

 milk powder and salt should first be stir- 

 red with a small quantity of cold water 

 to avoid lumping, and after a creamy con- 

 sistency has been secured, the necessary 

 amount of lukewarm water added, the 

 mixture well stirred and thus fed. 

 Enough can be made up, if desired, to 

 last twenty-four hours, but it should not 

 be fed cold. 



Method of Feeding 



Whole milk was fed for the first week 

 after weaning and then the skim milk 

 solution gradually substituted. Not over 

 nine quarts daily were fed to each calf 

 and it is better, although not necessary, 

 to continue feeding a minimum of two 

 quarts of whole milk daily during the 

 first six or eight weeks of the calf's life. 

 After the first month, the calf was taught 

 to eat rowen and a calf meal made up of 

 30 pounds red dog flour, 30 pounds ground 

 oats, 15 pounds linseed meal, 24% 

 pounds of corn meal and V2 pound salt. 

 By the time the calf reached four months 

 of age it was eating one and one-half to 

 two pounds of grain daily and a consid- 

 erable amount of hay. 



The experiment was ended when each 

 calf reached the age of four months at 

 which time the milk was gradually re- 

 moved and dry feeds substituted. It is 

 preferable, however, in case of promising 



dairy heifers, to continue giving some of 

 the skim milk until the animals are five 

 or six months of age, in order to promote 

 rapid growth. 



The Results 

 Relative Growth, Gains and Costs of 



Rearing Calves on Skim Milk Powders 



Average Food cost 



daily per pound 



Material gain of gain 



Lbs. Cents 

 Skim milk powder 



(drum process) 1.50 16.5 

 Skim milk powder 



(spray process) 1.39 22.2 

 Liquid skim milk 



for comparison 1.68 14.3 



6 grade Holstein calves were used in 

 each group. 



Liquid skim milk was charged at 1% 

 cents a quart, drum dried powder TVz 

 cents and spray dried powder 11 cents a 

 pound (drum dried solution, 1.9 and 

 spray dried solution, 2.75 cents a quart). 

 The table shows: 



1. That neither skim milk powder 

 promoted as rapid growth as did the 

 liquid skim milk. 



2. That the drum process powder pro- 

 duced slightly better growth than did the 

 spray process powder. The difference is 

 not great and too much stress should not 

 be placed upon it. Inasmuch, however, 

 as the drum dried powder may often be 

 purchased for several cents a pound less, 

 it is to be preferred for calf feeding. 



3. Dried skim milk offers the best sub- 

 stitute for liquid milk in the rearing of 

 young calves. At the present, the price 

 has advanced to 11 cents for the drum 

 dried and 13% per pound for the spray 

 dried, which renders their use of doubt- 

 ful economic value. The price will vary 

 according to supply and demand. 



— Mass. Exp't. Station, Bulletin 230. 



DAIRY HERD IMPROVEMENT 



RESTS ON THREE PRACTICES 



Three ways of improving the dairy 

 herd — better feeding, rigid culling, and 

 intelligent breeding — were emphasized by 

 .J. C. McDowell, dairy husbandman of the 

 United States Department of Agriculture, 

 in a talk at the recent farmers' week at 

 Orono, Me. 



"Better feeding of the cows we now 

 have," he said, "increases average pro- 

 duction, increases total production, and 

 usually increases net profits. Rigid cull- 

 ing out of low producers increases aver- 

 ages production, decreases total produc- 

 tion, and nearly always increases net 

 profits. The use of better dairy sires 

 eventually increases average production, 

 increases total production and, I be- 

 lieve I may safely say, with proper man- 

 agement always increases net profits. 



"All dairy herd improvement due to 

 better breeding tends to increase profits 



Merritt Clark 8C Co. 



Clothiers, Furnishers 



and 



Hatters 



HART SCHAFFNER AND 

 MARX CLOTHES 



144 Main Street 

 NORTHAMPTON, MASS. 



[ . 



Good Equipment Makes 

 Good Farmers Better" 



EARLE M. PARSONS 



15 Sherman Ave. 

 Northampton, Mass. 



Tel. 2059-W 



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