FIFTY-FIRST ANNUAL CONVENTION 129 



Dairymen Develop Herds as Good. 



Good producing cows are the only ones with which the 

 dairyman has any business. The problem of the dairy farm- 

 er, therefore is to secure cows of this type. A number of 

 dairymen who started with reasonably good cows, by select- 

 ing and grading up with a pure-bred sire, have in compara- 

 tively short time built up a herd as good as the one used in 

 this demonstration. 



Since only practical farm methods were used in the 

 production of the crops and in the feeding and care of these 

 grade cows, this demonstration means that the high results 

 were economically produced, and that is certainly a para- 

 mount factor in Illinois dairying today. 



A Balanced Result. 



The average production of these demonstration cows 

 was not extremely high, but their feed, care, housing and 

 management were all in balance with the quality of the 

 cows, and this resulted in a far higher production of milk 

 per acre than could have been the case with the same cows 

 under ordinary farm practice, which nearly always con- 

 tains some poor conditions that reduces the yield. 



The tremendous results obtained from having all the 

 factors fairly well balanced is one of the chief lessons in this 

 demonstration. That is a feature in dairying very generally 

 overlooked. Cows as good or better than these would 

 never produce this quantity of milk per acre unless such 

 crops were chosen as would make a high yield of the right 

 feeds. Unless the feeds were palatable and succulent and 

 contained plenty of protein and minerals, the cows could 

 not make so much milk. The great companion crops, corn 

 and alfalfa, provide all these conditions in a balanced way 

 and to a higher degree than any other farm crops known. 

 If the feed, freedom, comfort and fresh air given to the cows 

 in the barn had not met all requirements to keep these cows 

 healthy, vigorous, and in good flesh, for the long period of 

 six years, they could not have produced so well. The Milk 

 Per Acre demonstration was successful because pains were 



