ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 35 



would do iust as well, and be more profitable, if they are dairy cows he is 

 speaking of. 



Mr. Hostetter: The average dairyman would keep more cows. My idea 

 is the average farmer will attend to his work on the farm, and if you have 

 more cows than he can attend to he will lose more than he will profit by it. 

 I aim to keep a cow for every three acres, for dairying is my business, and 

 everything has got to come to the dairy point. Even if you forget the hogs, 

 the cows have got to be milked on time, but the average farmer won't do 

 that. 



Mr. Powell: How much grain food would a man have to buy to keep a 

 cow to every three acres on a farm? 



Mr. Hostetter: It takes a carload of bran a month on my farm to keep 

 fifty cows. I have 160 acres. I raise the corn and oats. I feed the year 

 around. 



Mr. Gray: Do you have that feed ground? 



Mr. Hostetter: I don't grind any feed. I have a silo, and my corn feed 

 goes through the silo. My cows don't get any corn but what first goes 

 through the silo. If I fed dry corn, I would grind it. I usually ground my 

 corn before I had my silo, and fed ensilage. Ifeed very little oats. 



Prof. McLain: You stated that the average earning for cows was $11? 



Mr. Hostetter: Yes, sir; I think so. 



Prof. McLain: You mean the average gross earnings of the milch 

 cow? 



A. Yes. sir. 



Prof. McLain: And where do you attribute that low average? 



A. The low average? Because the farmer doesn't take care of the cow. 

 The calves suck two-thirds o,f the milk, and when the calves get big they 

 milk the cows. 



Prof. McLain: You think they are in the calf business instead of dairy- 

 ing? 



A. Yes, sir. 



Q. You think calf-raising is the business, and dairying is a side issue? 



A. Yes, sir; in my section. I mean the average farmer, you under- 

 stand. 



