6 BULLETIN" 615, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



AVOID COSTLY RATIONS. 



Not only were some of the farmers giving their cows too much 

 feed, but many of the feeds used were altogether too high priced. 

 The farms were again divided into four groups, the grouping based 

 on the average daily feed cost per cow. The average daily feed cost 

 per cow in each of these groups was as follows : 5.8 cents on 98 farms, 

 8.4 cents on 162 farms, 10.3 cents on 131 farms, and 13.7 cents on 87 

 farms. The average winter feed cost for the cows in the first group 

 was $10. In spite of the fact that the cows in the fourth group 

 were carried for a 10-day shorter winter feeding period, and were 

 given nearly one-fifth less feed than those of the first group, they 

 cost $12 a head more to winter, or $22. This great difference in the 

 cost of wintering the cows in these two groups was due largely to 

 the kinds of feed used. The farmers in the first group were carrying 

 their cows through the winter on a ration 62 per cent of which was 

 made up of cheap roughages, such as stalks, stover (cut corn from 

 which the ears have been removed), oat and wheat straw, and some 

 winter pasture. The remainder of the ration consisted of 30 per 

 cent hay, 4 per cent fodder (cut corn containing the ears), and 2 

 per cent each of silage and grain. The cows in the fourth group, 

 which were fed at a cost of 13.7 cents a head per day, were, on the 

 other hand, receiving a ration that contained only 24 per cent cheap 

 roughage as against 40 per cent hay, 12 per cent fodder, 14 per cent 

 silage, and 10 per cent grain. 



USE MORE CHEAP ROUGHAGE. 



The figures cited above indicate that there is an opportunity for 

 many of the corn-belt farmers to reduce considerably their winter 

 feed bill by the greater utilization of the farm by-products, such as 

 straw and corn stover. A study, therefore, was made to determine 

 the effect of feeding varying proportions of these cheap roughages, 

 the farms again being divided into groups. There were 14 farms 

 (see Table II) on which no cheap roughages were fed. The average 

 ration on these farms was composed of 54 per cent hay, 25 per cent 

 fodder, 10 per cent silage, and 11 per cent grain. The daily cost 

 of this ration was 11 cents. In the second group, 229 farms, the 

 average quantity of cheap roughages fed was 24 per cent, these feeds 

 replacing fodder and silage to a limited extent. Although the figures 

 show a smaller percentage of hay and grain, as a matter of fact the 

 farms in this group fed on the average one-tenth of a ton more hay 

 and a little more grain than those of the first group, feeding al- 

 together 2,250 feed units as against 1,950 for those in the first group. 

 Because of the larger amount of feed given, this ration cost approxi- 



