4,400 to 



5,500 



5,500 to 



6,600 



6,600 to 



7,700 



7,700 to 



8,800 



8,800 to 



9,900 



9,900 to 



11,000 



11,000 



and over. 



Thirty-fourth Annual Convention. ^^^ 



Some of the Results. 



Yield from 2 herds averages 3,800 to 4,400 lbs. 



21 



135 



386 



438 



158 



27 



5 



These herds were regular herds as they w'ere found in the 

 country and do not include any "fancy" herds. 



The Work Extended. 



Recently many of the associations have found the system of 

 keeping records so instructive and profitable that it has been 

 extended to include other branches of farming, such as the rais- 

 ing of young stock,' horses, hogs, poultry, and the growing of 

 crops. 



CO-OPERATIVE COW TESTING ASSOCIATIONS IN MICHIGAN. 



Since the enactment of the new dairy law of 1905, which 

 makes it the duty of the Dairy and Food Department to foster 

 and encourage the dairy industry, numerous dairies have been 

 visited by the inspection force. This has been done with the view 

 not only of investigating the sanitary conditions under which 

 milk is produced, but also to ascertain if possible the economic 

 condition of the dairy business. 



The reports of the inspectors show that only in isolated cases 

 did the dairyman know how much his herd brought him in a year. 

 Very few farmers had Babcock testers, and the majority of those 

 who did have testers did not use them. In exceptional cases the 

 cost of the feed was estimated. Where records have been 

 obtained by the inspector, their procedure has been, either to add 

 up the returns from the creamery or cheese factory as shown by 

 the monthly statements furnished by them to their patrons, or to 

 go to the factory and copy those monthly returns from the books. 

 After securing this data, the inspector ascertained from thv: 

 larmer how many cows were kept during that period, and by 

 dividing the returns by the number of cows kept, the gross re- 

 ceipts per cow were calculated. While some of the records showed 

 large profits, the great majority did not. The gross returns in a 

 year were in many instances as low as $19.00 for each cow in the 

 herd. 



