428 



FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



Relative economy of milk and beef 

 production — As indicated in a discus- 

 sion of the beef industry, the relative 

 economy in milk production is much 

 greater than in beef production. Good 

 dairy cows produce human food in the 

 form of milk much more economically 

 than food products can be obtained in 

 the form of beef, pork or mutton. Nat- 

 urally, the cost of production of milk 

 and butter varies greatly in different 

 localities, according to the price of farm 

 labor and feeding stuffs, but the rela- 

 tive economy of dairy and beef produc- 

 tion varies in the same direction in 

 nearly all localities. The only apparent 

 exceptions to this rule are found in the 

 two extremes of farming conditions 

 found on the western ranges and in the 

 neighborhood of large eastern cities. On 

 the western ranges the distance from 

 the market is so great that milk could 

 not be delivered in a satisfactory condi- 

 tion and dairying is practically impos- 

 sible. In the neighborhood of large east- 

 ern cities, on the other hand, the price 

 of land and the cost of feeding stuffs 

 are so high that the production of beef 

 becomes altogether too expensive as 

 compared with milk production. As 

 indicated in discussing the economy of 

 beef production, the amount of feed re- 

 quired for the production of a pound of 

 beef in the best type of modern beef 

 steers is nearly, if not quite, ten times 

 as great as the amount of feed neces- 

 sary for the production of a pound of 

 milk by the modern dairy cow. This 

 should indicate without argument the 

 great difference in the relative economy 

 of beef and milk production in localities 

 where conditions are favorable for both 

 the beef and dairy industries. In Min- 

 nesota, the average annual cost of keep- 

 ing a dairy cow has been found to be 

 about $38, while in Massachusetts the 

 average cost of producing milk is about 

 2V-> cents a quart. More than half as 

 much feed is required for a pound of 

 beef as for a pound of butter, and while 

 the cost of butter production varies 

 greatly in different places, it may usu- 

 ally be placed at from 8 to 12 cents 

 a pound. 



Formation of dairy herd — In making 

 a start in the dairy business, the first 

 great problem is the formation of the 

 dairy herd. In this operation the selec- 

 tion of the cows and the bull to head 

 the herd is by no means an unimpor- 

 tant matter. It is ordinarily to be rec- 



ommended that a herd should not be 

 composed of different breeds, but should 

 contain only one pure breed or grade 

 animals based on that breed. In prac- 

 tice, however, dairy cows should be se- 

 lected for their individual record rather 

 than for their pedigree, color or form. 

 For dairy purposes, dairy breeds should 

 be chosen rather than beef breeds, for 

 the reason that they produce milk fat 

 rather than body fat from their food; 

 while beef cattle, on the other hand, arc 

 likely to become fat under forced feed- 

 ing without increasing to a correspond- 

 ing degree their milk yield. No one, 

 however, should allow either breed or 

 type to determine entirely his choice 

 of cows for his dairy herd. The prime 

 requisite is that they shall give a large 

 quantity and a good quality of milk. 



BREEDS OF DAIRY COWS 



In the discussion of the breeds of 

 cattle which may be used for beef, a 

 description has already been given not 

 only of the strictly beef animals, but 

 also all of those breeds which are com- 

 monly referred to as dual purpose cat- 

 tle. Some of these breeds, as, for exam- 

 ple, the Shorthorns, Devons, Brown 

 Swiss, Red Polls and Polled Durhams 

 are quite extensively used for dairy pur- 

 poses and for a description of them the 

 reader is referred to the list of breeds 

 under beef cattle. All of the pure dairy 

 breeds of cattle in the United States 

 originated in Great Britain and the 

 western parts of Europe, and apparently 

 had a common origin in the wild cattle 

 which existed in the forests of Europe 

 in early times. They have been bred 

 along pure lines, however, for such long 

 periods that the breed type in each case 

 has become firmly fixed with distin- 

 guishing characteristics. For practical 

 purposes it may be said that there are 

 only three general types among the com- 

 mon dairy breeds which have been in- 

 troduced into this country. The IIol- 

 steins and Dutch Belted constitute one 

 type. They are relatively large, both 

 being black and white in color, and orig- 

 inated in Holland. The second type in- 

 cludes the Jersey, Guernsey, Ayrshire 

 and French Canadian, all of English 

 origin and all showing various mixtures 

 of red and white with other variations 

 in their color. The Kerry cow may be 

 mentioned as the third type This ani- 

 mal originated in Ireland and corre- 

 sponds in the list of dairy animals to 



