66 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



' I 



cause there is no use of feeding good high-priced feeds to 

 an inefficient machine. Naturally, the thing to do is to feed 

 your cow as nearly as you can from products grown on the 

 farm. Anyone going into the dairy business extensively 

 and who subordinates the farm to the dairy business is 

 making a mistake. Primarily, the farm is the center of 

 activities. The dairy herd should be subordinated to the 

 farm and conducted in such a way as to approach as nearly 

 as possible the providing of feed for your dairy herd. 



The growing legumes is one of your first problems. 

 The second thing is to grow some sort of succulence, such as 

 silage. In the matter of grain rations, your carbohydrates, 

 such as corn, barley or oats and feed of that character, and 

 some protein feed, such as soya bean. You will have to 

 purchase a little material to build up your ration. 



We have cows that will produce abnormal quantities, 

 as high as twenty, thirty and thirty-five thousand pounds of 

 milk per year, but it is highly artificial and we have pro- 

 duced an abnormal animal from the standard of feeding. 



The dairy cow as she existed in her natural state ran 

 wild and browsed over a large area, but methods of domes- 

 tication, breeding, good care, etc., built her up into an arti- 

 ficial animal. 



The dairy cow in her wild state consumed considerable 

 roughage, rather high in mineral matter. 



Under the artificial conditions under which we are 

 handling cattle, you find an outcropping of the improper 

 nutrition of cattle in many ways. You may find your cows 

 around the lot chewing bones, stones, ashes, parts of fences 

 — something abnormal. That usually indicates an insuffi- 

 cient supply of mineral matter. 



Another manifestation of it may be the matter of 

 breeding. Your cattle may become non-breeders through 

 the improper feeding of minerals. While minerals in them- 

 selves are not cures of abortion, they are certain to be 

 looked upon as a means of prevention. 



Cows seemingly in perfect feed will not give as much 

 milk as they should. They will be low in fat content in 

 comparison with what that breed should produce. Appar- 



