ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



RAISING THE DAIRY CALF. 



By E. G. Woodward, University of Nebraska. 



There are in Nebraska more than 600,000 dairy cows. The 

 average period of usefulness of the dairy cow is not more than 

 eight years. This means that to maintain the dairy herds of Ne- 

 braska at their present size between 70,000 and 80,000 heifer 

 calves must be raised each year. To mate these cows properly* 

 with dairy bred bulls will require the rearing of about 8,000 bulls 

 yearly. 



Aside from the necessity of maintaining the herds at their 

 present size, the importance of calf raising to the Nebraska dairy- 

 man lies in the fact that this is the surest and most satisfactory 

 way of improving his herd. It should be remembered, first, that 

 herd improvement can come only through the replacing of worn- 

 out or discarded cows by heifers better than the cows they re- 

 place. Such heifers are the result of mating a pure-bred bull, 

 with a herd of cows from which the undesirable individuals have 

 been culled. It is neither practical nor satisfactory for the dairy- 

 man to buy these heifers, because he will usually have to pay 

 more for them than it would co^t to raise them, and he has no 

 assurance that heifers which he may buy are well bred. 



When Does It Pay To Raise a Calf? 



The dairyman's main object in^raising calves should be to 

 improve his herd. He may also raise stock for sale either for 

 breeding or for slaughter. Under ordinary conditions it will pay 

 to raise every well-bred heifer calf. Heifer calves of inferior 

 breeding and grade bull calves or pure-bred bulls of inferior 

 breeding should not be raised with the intention of using them 

 for breeding purposes. Unless conditions are such that it will 

 pay to raise these for meat it is best to kill such calves at birth.' 

 Then they will not leave any inferior offspring in the country. 



