174 FARM MANAGEMENT 



northern Minnesota we have the other extreme. Labor 

 is high, and feed, land, and milk are very cheap. Here 

 the cows run out much of the year and pasture on prairie 

 grass in summer and corn stalks in winter. No attempt 

 is made to secure very high production per cow. Between 

 these extremes we have all degrees of variation. The 

 intensive method is as much out of place in Minnesota as 

 the Minnesota method would be in Germany. 



The least intensive method of dairying is to produce 

 most of the product in summer on pasture and carry the 

 cows over winter on hay and cheap roughage. This is 

 the practice in Holland and in the parts of New York and 

 Wisconsin where cheese is produced. It is better economy 

 to produce the cheese on cheap feed and store it than it is 

 to try to produce it on high-priced winter feed. The same 

 practice is followed to some extent with butter making, 

 but a larger proportion of the butter supply is made in 

 winter because it is less easily stored. 



A more intensive method of dairying is to feed hay and 

 grain in the winter so as to get some production during 

 this season. This is justified when butter or milk brings 

 a fair price. This is the common practice of the majority 

 of dairymen in America. 



A still more intensive method adds corn silage and in- 

 creases the grain. This is the usual method followed by 

 dairymen who have fairly large herds and who are near 

 enough cities to get a good price for milk. Silos are not 

 often used with less than 10 to 20 cows. 



With all of the above methods, summer pasture is used 

 as far as possible. When land becomes very scarce and 

 milk very high in price, the pasture is replaced by a soiling 

 system. Farmers in the very edge of cities are the only 

 ones that often find this profitable in 'America. 



