INFLUENCE OF SEASON OF FRESHENING ON DAIRY COWS. 



9 



yearly butterfat production went down as the date of freshening 

 approached midsummer is only a little less marked than the regu- 

 larity and rapidity with which yearly butterfat production went 

 up as the date of freshening advanced from June to October. It 

 must be remembered that these figures are the averages for 64 asso- 

 ciations and that they do not hold true for every one of the associa- 

 tions. 



HOW THE MONTHS RANKED. 



Table 9, which was made from the averages of the 64 associations, 

 shows that the cows that freshened in the fall and winter months 

 ranked high in production of milk and butterfat and in income over 

 cost of feed, 



Table 9. 



-Months when cows freshened ranked from 1 to 12 on yearly records of 

 production, costs, and income. 



Month. 



Milk 



Butterfat 



Value 



Cost of 



Cost of 



Total 



produc- 



produc- 



of 



rough- 



feed 



tion. 



tion. 



product. 



age. 





cost. 



4 



5 



5 



7 



5 



6 



7 



6 



7 



12 



7 



7 



8 



8 



8 



8 



10 



10 



12 



11 



9 



6 



12 



11 



10 



10 



11 



11 



11 



12 



11 



12 



10 



8 



9 



9 



9 



9 



12 



10 



8 



8 



6 



6 



6 



5 



6 



5 



5 



4 



4 



4 



4 



4 



1 



1 



2 



1 



1 



1 



3 



2 



3 



3 



2 



3 



2 



3 



1 



2 



3 



2 



Income 

 over cost 

 of feed. 



January . . 

 February. , 



March 



April 



May 



June 



July 



August 



September 

 October . . . 

 November. 

 December . 



On every topic in this table the three months October, November, 

 and December won the first three ranks, though not always in the 

 same order. This indicates that, on an average, it generally pays 

 to have cows freshen in the fall and early winter. Though they 

 eat more grain, the greater production generally gives them an 

 advantage all along the line. 



CONCLUSIONS. 



The study that has been made of the records from 64 cow-testing 

 association- shows that fall or early winter freshening is desirable in 

 most parts of the country. The influence of season of freshening is 

 important, but the dairyman who has a steady market for milk 

 at fair prices during all seasons of the year will usually find it to 

 his advantage to keep the supply of dairy products fairly uniform 

 from month to mouth. 



Often the results 'hie to date of freshening are different in differ- 

 ent associations, even in the same agricultural district. For that 

 reason no -.el rule can be given as to what percentage of the cows 

 should freshen each month in the year. That will vary to some 



