MILK RECORDS 79 



CHAPTER II 

 MILK RECORDS 



Value of milk records. — Records of the perform- 

 ances of dairy cows form the only accurate and safe 

 basis for judging their value. No person is able to 

 go into a good-sized herd and pick out all of the 

 best cows by examination. Records are absolutely 

 necessary to determine profit and loss. In one com- 

 munity, where the dairymen had the same soil and 

 the same market, it was shown that one made $2.50 

 for every dollar invested in feed, while his neighbor 

 lost 50 cents. This difference was due almost en- 

 tirely to a lack of business methods. It is the con- 

 stant aim of progressive dairymen to improve their 

 herds, and such improvement must depend largely 

 upon culling the herd and getting rid of the unprofit- 

 able animals. From the breeder's standpoint, 

 records are especially valuable in assisting in finding 

 customers for their stock. Many buyers insist upon 

 seeing records of performance before purchasing. 



A record is also of great help to the feeder. If 

 he knows exactly what a cow is doing he can pre- 

 pare the ration accordingly and often feed more 

 economically. Again, a daily milk record enables 

 a dairyman to detect the approach of sickness in a 

 cow and thus to take steps to ward it off. 



Much inspiration is obtained from keeping a 

 record, and nothing gives a dairyman more satisfac- 

 tion than watching the improved returns from his 

 herd. Many of the State experiment stations have 



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