DAIRY CATTLE 



449 



Smith, in Michigan, reports that 

 cows eat beet pulp readily to the extent 

 of 50 to 100 pounds a day and make a 

 profitable yield of milk from it. 



Dried pulp — According to the expe- 

 rience of Billings, in New Jersey, fresh 

 sugar beet pulp is hard to handle in the 

 natural state and must be used imme- 

 diately in order to prevent its undergo- 

 ing undesirable changes. The amount 

 of water in fresh pulp used in these 

 experiments was about S2 per cent. Bil- 

 lings presents a number of arguments 

 in favor of drying sugar beet pulp before 

 feeding. The pulp may then be kept in- 

 definitely without suffering harm; it is 

 easy of shipment, one ton of dried pulp 

 being equivalent to about 13 tons of 

 fresh pulp and by soaking tbe dried pulp 

 with water just before feeding, all the 

 advantages of a succulent feed may be 

 obtained. The dried pulp may be profit- 

 ably fed in rations of 10 pounds and 

 costs about $20 a ton. Dried beet pulp 

 produced 10 per cent more milk and 9 

 per cent more butter than a corn silage 

 ration, and at the same time seemed 

 more effective in maintaining the weight 

 of the cows. As compared with dried 

 molasses-beet pulp, the plain dried pulp, 

 was somewhat less effective, but more 

 economical. In Denmark, it has been 

 found that butter from sugar beet pulp 

 is equal to that from mangels and that 

 12 pounds of pulp are equal to 1 pound 

 of mixed barley and oats. It is evident 

 from the numerous feeding experiments 

 and from the experience of practical 

 dairyman with sugar beet pulp, that this 

 material constitutes an excellent means 

 of adding succulence to the ration for 

 dairy cows and may well take the place 

 of corn silage in those western states 

 in which corn is not extensively pro- 

 duced. 



Turnips — According to Canadian ex- 

 perience, turnips fed at the rate of ^ 

 bushel a day, give no bad flavor to the 

 milk, whether fed before or after milk- 

 ing. When the daily ration is 1 bushel 

 a day, however, a turnipy odor appears 

 in the milk upon heating to a tempera- 

 ture of 110° F. In such cases, the odor 

 is more pronounced when the turnips 

 are fed before milking, but is removed 

 by pasteurizing the milk. Turnip tops 

 have been fed with good results in the 

 milk yield. In Iowa, more milk, but of 

 an inferior quality, was obtained from 

 turnips than from mangels, and in some 



experiments in Norway turnips fed even 

 to the extent of 2V2 bushels a day gave 

 no taint to the milk. The turnipy flavor 

 may best be avoided by feeding the tur- 

 nips after milking. 



FORAGE CROPS FOR MILCH COWS 



Dairy cows, like steers, can profitably 

 utilize a large quantity of coarse mate- 

 rial. The relative amount of succulent 

 material in tbe ration, however, should 

 always be considerably higher with dairy 

 cows than with steers. The amount of 

 grain as compared with the total amount 

 of hay or other coarse forage and roots, 

 silage or other green material, is, as a 

 rule, perhaps somewhat lower in dairy 

 feeding than in fattening steers. In 

 the following paragraphs notes are given 

 on the more common coarse fodders used 

 for milch cows. 



Alfalfa — I n the arid regions, alfalfa 

 is by all means the most important for- 

 age plant for cows, serving as pasture 

 and soiling crop, silage or hay. More- 

 over, alfalfa is gradually gaining in 

 favor throughout the eastern and south- 

 ern states, where it has been cultivated 

 in a proper manner. In some localities, 

 the profits obtained from alfalfa in feed- 

 ing dairy cows have exceeded that from 

 any other crop. In Canada, it has been 

 reported that alfalfa was eaten with 

 more relish than green rye and gave a 

 better flavor to the butter. Likewise in 

 New York, alfalfa produced more milk 

 than any other green forage, or even 

 silage. The quality of the milk was 

 sometimes poorer than that of milk from 

 corn fodder or silage. In Utah, alfalfa 

 has proved superior to mixed hay and 

 cheaper and more effective than corn 

 fodder. In New Jersey and vari- 

 ous other localities, it has been shown 

 beyond question that alfalfa hay or 

 green alfalfa may be substituted for a 

 part of the wheat bran, dried brewers' 

 grains or other grains which would nat- 

 urally be used in rations for dairy cows. 



When cows are allowed to eat alfalfa 

 hay ad libitum, Otis found that each 

 cow would consume as much as 43 

 pounds a day in addition to some kafir 

 corn fodder. The results were somewhat 

 better, however, when the alfalfa ration 

 was reduced to 30 pounds a day. As a 

 rule, it is a safe proposition to allow 

 cows all the coarse forage they will eat, 

 but with the best quality of alfalfaand 

 clover hay they may consume relatively 

 too much. Otis considers alfalfa at $7 



