■^^^ Illinois State Dairymen's Association. 



and perhaps get enthusiastic over it if we have good cows. At 

 any rate, it is going to stimulate us to better work, and that is 

 just what a great many of us need. Just a Httle stimulus once in 

 awhile to keep us keyed up and to keep our enthusiasm fed. 



I made a trip to Europe this summer for the purpose of 

 investigating what the co-operative associations had done in the 

 Old World, and wish to give you a few of the figures, both for 

 individual herds, and for the country as a whole. On the farm 

 I spoke of a few moments ago this regular system of testing and 

 reading has resulted in an increase of the net profits of over 100 

 per cent during a period of nine years. 



Another herd owned by August Knick, Beltabefga, Sweden, 

 increased from 7,320 pounds of milk per cow in seven years to 

 11,333 pounds, an increase of 4,013 pounds per cow. The herd 

 consisted" of 71 cows and figuring the butter at 22 2-10 cents a 

 pound it means ihsit Mr. Kinck the seventh year received 

 $2,558.00 more from his herd than he did before he began test- 

 ing. In ten years this amounts to $25,588. 



Take the little country of Denmark for instance, which has 



an area of about quarter that of . During the last 20 



years the number of cows in that country has been very constant. 

 In 1887 they had a little less than a million cows, but in the same 

 period the production of butter per cow has increased from 120 

 pounds of butter to over 200 pounds. This amounts to over 18 

 million pounds of butter a year and this has all been accomplished 

 through this system of testing the cows. Practically speaking, 

 they have changed their cows from being more or less a beef 

 animal into dairy cows. I do not mean to say that all cows in 

 Denmark are in cow testing associations, in fact, only 15 per cent 

 of them are, but even those herd owners not members of associa- 

 tions derive benefits from this system indirectly by intercourse 

 with their neighbor's who are members. 



Two years ago it was my good fortune to be able to organize 

 a first Co-operative Testing Association on this side of the ocean. 

 This was copied after those in the old country. I have in this 

 bulletin a record of the first year's work. I will give you just 

 items for your consideration. Here is one herd consisting of 

 nineteen cows, where the net profit is only $8.64 per cow in a 

 year, and here is one where the net profit is $36.12 per cow. 



