COST OF REARING A DAIRY COW. 71 



Bennett and Cooper say that the "cost of producing a dairy heifer 

 seems to indicate that a heifer entering the dairy herd at two years of 

 age must be worth at least $60 to cover cost only.^ It would appear that 

 a farmer cannot afford to raise a heifer calf that will not sell for more 

 than $60 at two 3'ears of age." 



Concluding Suggestions. 



1. The above data make it very clear that too much care cannot be 

 used in the selecting of heifer calves for dairy cows. They should be 

 sired by bulls of known reputation and be dropped by large producing 

 cows. Heifers from unknown bulls or from inferior cows are not worth 

 the raising. 



2. As small an amount of milk should be used as is consistent with a 

 satisfactory growth of the calf, because of the relatively high cost of both 

 whole and skim milk. Of the total food cost, in case of our own experi- 

 ments, milk represented from 11 to 35 per cent., with an average of 20.5 

 per cent. In case of the Wisconsin trials milk represented one-third of 

 the total food cost. 



3. Calf meal wdU serve as a partial milk substitute, but at 3 cents a 

 pound, the 3^ ounces necessary to make a quart of the substitute cost 

 two-tliirds of a cent, and at that figure the skim milk is to be preferred; 

 hence, if skim milk can be had at not over two-thirds to three-fourths 

 of a cent a quart, it is to be preferred to calf meal at 3 cents a pound. 



4. The calves should be pastured for two seasons whenever possible, 

 and the pasture should not be overstocked. It frequently happens that 

 owing to overstocking or to dry weather the young animals make but 

 little growth during the pasture season, and it requires several months 

 of barn feeding to bring them into a thrifty growing condition. 



5. It is rarely advisable to leave the animals in the pasture after October 

 15. In case of early hard frosts it is better to bring them in October 1. 



6. During the remainder of the year the most economical feeds are likely 

 to be silage, early cut hay, possibly some cut corn stover, and 2 to 3 pounds 

 daily of a standard grain mixture. The grain may be increased to 5 pounds 

 daily tlu-ee or four months before calving, whenever practicable, in order 

 to aid in developing the milldng qualities of the future cow. 



7. An effort should be made to provide low-cost but comfortable winter 

 quarters, dry and clean surroundings and convenient arrangements in 

 order to keep the labor cost at a minimuin. 



' The food cost of the Wisconsin heifers, due primarily to the less cost of many feeds during 

 the experiment, was some $16 less than the Massachusetts cost. If this extra cost was added to 

 the $60, it would bring the total up to $76, not including loss tlirough discards. 



