56 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



BUILDING UP AN EFFICIENT DAIRY HERD 



One of the essentials to economical milk production and 

 profits in the dairy business is good cows, the kind that can 

 convert the feed we grow on our farms into milk and butter 

 fat at a profit. Naturally, the question arises : Where can 

 we get good cows? 



There are two ways of procuring good cows. One way 

 is to go out and buy them from dairymen and breeders who 

 have been in the breeding game for a long time, and the 

 other is to raise them. While the first method is the quick- 

 est way to get an efficient herd of dairy cows, it is not the 

 cheapest way. It is also true that when you depend on buy- 

 ing your cows, there is more danger of getting contagious 

 abortion and tuberculosis into your herd. It is also true that 

 most good dairymen and breeders know which are their best 

 cows and it is usually the rule that they sell the poorest 

 cows in the herd. Although some of the best cows in a 

 herd can be bought, you will be required to pay a premium 

 to get them. Then, if every one would want to buy good 

 cows, the demand would outstrip the supply and there 

 wouldi not be enough to go around. 



The best way to get an efficient herd is to raise your 

 cows. Keep a record of the production of each cow and 

 then raise the heifer calves from the best cows. After these 

 heifers come fresh, sell off the lowest producers. 



Where this method of improving a herd is followed, a 

 very efficient herd can be built up in a few years. I have 

 followed this method of improvement for nearly twenty-one 

 years. Some of the cows raised in this way have averaged 

 nearly 3,000 pounds of milk, more than their dams have 

 produced. 



The herd from which we built our herd averaged only 

 3,500 pounds of milk and 190 pounds of butter fat. In 

 three years time, the average production of the herd was 

 increased to 8,000 pounds of milk and 307 pounds of butter 

 fat. 



In building up a good dairy herd, the first essential is 



