MILK PRODUCTION 245 



requirements of feeding for milk production, as just set 

 forth, must be met at the least expense. 



In actual practice, summer and winter feeding present 

 separate problems. In summer, the bulk of the feed is ob- 

 tained from pasture. But ordinarily the nutrients obtained 

 from pasture are not enough for the best milk production, 

 and they should be supplemented sufficiently to bring the 

 ration up to standard. The rations may be standardized by 

 the addition of a concentrate, such as grain. The amount 

 added may range from three to ten pounds, depending upon 

 the size of the cow and her milk-yielding capacity; for ex- 

 ample, three pounds for a small Jersey cow producing twenty 

 pounds of milk daily, or, ten pounds for a large Holstein 

 producing fifty pounds of milk daily. 



In winter, the cow must be supplied with a palatable, well- 

 balanced ration. Mixed feed, consisting of more than one 

 kind of roughage including some succulent feed, such as 

 silage, and several kinds of concentrates will tend to keep 

 the cow up to her full productive capacity. 



Among all the feeds 'best adapted for dairy cattle, silage 

 has come to be recognized as the most important. It furnishes 

 roughage and succulence, and approaches summer feed. It 

 also reduces the requirement of hay and grain in the ration. 

 For these reasons silage is very desirable in all rations for 

 dairy cows. 



An experiment was made at the Ohio State Agricultural 

 Experiment Station to determine " what effect the feeding 

 of more silage than is usually fed by dairymen, with a corre- 

 sponding reduction in the grain portion of the ration, might 

 have upon the production of milk, butter fat, gain in live 

 weight, cost of ration, and consequent profit." Both rations 

 conformed to the same feeding standard with almost the 



