26 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATIOx\ BULLETIN 430 



Dairy Production 



A well-developed land use program is of prime necessity in maintaining and 

 strengthening the competitive position of the Massachusetts dairy industry. 

 As already pointed out, this land use program is a compound of a number of 

 important measures. It starts with the clearing and consolidation of small fields 

 wherever this may lead to more efficient cultivation. Likewise drainage opera- 

 tions will be carried out as a step to removing serious handicaps on many hay 

 and pasture lands. This will lead to the improvement of grassland which is 

 the cornerstone of the Massachusetts dairy program. 



The number of cows on Massachusetts farms showed only slight changes during 

 the war period, although by 1945 some evidences of decline appeared. In the 

 last decade, as reported by the Census, this number has been maintained at a 

 level of about 140,000 head. The production of milk per cow, however, has 

 shown some increase, largely as a result of heavier feeding of concentrates, and 

 during the years 1944 and 1945 the output per cow has been the highest ever 

 reached. It can hardly be expected that this will be surpassed on the basis of 

 the present make-up and care of dairy herds. Further improvement will come 

 only as a result of a well-developed program carried on for a number of years. 



The first point of this program will be the breeding of more efficient cows either 

 through herd sires or through artificial insemination. This should be accom- 

 panied by better sanitation measures and general maintenance of health in the 

 herds. Of special significance will be control and eradication of mastitis and 

 Bang's disease on the basis of the recommendations which are available through 

 the most recent findings in this field. 



While the production of milk in Massachusetts during the wartime period did 

 not change significantly from the prewar period, the consumption of fluid milk 

 registered a considerable rise. It is not too much to expect that at least a part of 

 this increase will be retained in the postwar period. Under these conditions the 

 producers may find it advantageous to increase the number of cows by at least 

 10 percent, which will serve to hold their former relative position in supplying 

 the milk requirements of the State. As will be seen from Table 4, alter the firs t 



Table 4.— Number of Cows Assessed' in Mass.^chusetts 1915-1943. 



From Public Document 19: ".Aggregates of Polls, Property and Taxes." 1915-1940; Assessors' 

 reports. 1941-1943. 

 'The number of cows assessed is ordinarily somewhat lower than the number reported by the 

 Census. 



