32 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



CARE OF THE DAIRY BULL 



John Michels. 



''Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen : 



I think one of the cardinal things upon which successful 

 dairying depends is good cows, and back of good cows are good 

 dairy sires. 



From my life work with dairy cows, I don't think there 

 is any single thing that has or will put a man on his feet as will 

 a herd of cows headed by a good dairy sire. At the time I 

 purchased my first sire I had all grade cows. 'That sire cost me 

 $400, and some thought that was going some for a dairy sire, 

 but I never have invested money so well as in that particular sire. 



I can remember when Wisconsin was a land-robbing state; 

 when, instead of building up the soil, it was being torn down, 

 and when land w^as selling quite cheap. But things have changed 

 to dairying there just as they have on the other side of the state 

 line. The change has practically doubled the value of land in 

 less than twenty years, and all this by the use of the dairy cow. 



My chief purpose here is to tell you about the dairy bull 

 and how to handle him. I want to say this, however, that my 

 talk will have very little weight* if I cannot get you to keep a 

 real worthy bull, an animal that is worth the heading of any 

 herd whether grade or purebred. I believe that one of the great- 

 est of mistaken notions as to the use of a valuable, purebred sire 

 is that it has no place in a grade herd. I have observed a great 

 many herds and I know that a good purebred sire placed at the 

 head of a grade herd will make a wonderful improvement of 

 the daughters over the dams in the production of butterfat. 



Mr. Foss made it plain this morning that you have to have 

 good cows in order to make a success of dairying in these times 

 of high priced feeds; that the man who understands the dairy 

 business has a better chance of making money today than ever. 

 Yes, the chances for money-making are better than they used 

 to be. but not with cows of the 150 pound butterfat standard. 



