54 DAIRYING. 



Feed Records. There are but few farmers who keep any records 

 whatever of the feed consumed by their cows during the year. AIL 

 the cows at one farm are usually fed in the same way, no attempt is 

 made to vary the feed of each cow excepting where grain feeding 

 is practiced, it is usually stopped while a cow is giving little or no 

 milk. It may not be profitable to keep feed records for each cow 

 in a herd at the beginning of a systematic study of the cows, but 

 every farmer ought to know how much the milk his cows are produc- 

 ing is costing him. A record which was kept on a farm where twelve 

 cows were milked will illustrate one step in this direction. 



Estimated feed cost and receipts from twelve cows: 



Expenses. 



Grain bought during year $181.00 



30 acres corn stalks, $2.00 per acre . ." 60.00 



10 tons of clover hay, $5.00 50.00 



10 acres good pasture and 15 acres woodland 65.00 



Total cost of feed $355.00 



Receipts. 



Received for milk at creamery $572.00 



Sold 12 calves at $5.50 66.00 



$638.00 



60,000 Ibs. skim milk, 10 cents per 100 Ibs 60.00 



Receipts exceed feed cost $343.00 



$698.00 



The grain feed consists of corn and oats ground together, corn 

 meal and bran, or about 15 tons of grain at $12.00 per ton. 



This record shows that the estimated cost of feed at this farm 

 was nearly $30 per cow; and the total receipts $698.00 divided by 

 12, the number of cows in this herd, gives a little over $58 as the 

 average receipts per cow. Assuming that the manure will pay for 

 the care of a cow, the owner of this herd received an average profit 

 of $28 per cow. Each cow was fed about the same amount of grain 

 and hay during the period of stable feeding November 1 to May 1. 

 The grain was fed dry just before milking, ten to fourteen pounds 

 per head being fed per day, excepting the dry cows, which received 



