114 



ILLINOIS DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



7 cents per cow per day. Our eyes were being opened. We 

 bought two young registered Red Poll bulls from predominent 

 milk and butter strains, the very best individuals we could buy, 

 regardless of price. We sold sixteen cows and heifers the first 

 year, A good many heifers came in fresh and we started by buying 

 any first class cow we could find. By careful study of the indi- 

 vidual records of the cows and weighing the feed to the indivi- 

 duals four times a month we were able to keep close track of and 

 to cut expenses and steadily increase the milk production. 



I had studied out nutritive rations and found our ration had 

 been about one to nine (1:10- ^^^^ gradually brought it to 

 1 :5.8. AVe have had best results from a 1 :6 ratio, varied accord- 

 ing to the price of feed and working conditions of the cows. 



Last March, one year from the time we started to weigh and 

 test, we milked forty-nine cows, the average pounds of milk pro- 

 duced for the month of March, '03, was 7'40.3 pounds, an increase 

 over March, '02, of 280.0 pounds per cow. 



The average test was 4. 04 per cent, 16 per cent lower than 

 the year before, but the average pounds butter fat produced was 

 252 pounds, or about 283 pounds of butter. 



In short we had increased the milk production from 3,450 

 pounds per cow to 6,219 pounds, or an increase of 2,756 pounds 

 per cow. The butter fat increased from 159 pounds to 252 

 pounds, an increase of 93 pounds per cow, and instead of forty 

 cows producing an everage 179 pounds of butter we had forty- 

 nine cows which averaged 283 pounds of butter, an increase of 

 104 pounds allowing yg for overrun in churning. 



Our feed for March, 1903, cost us on an average of 19 cents 

 per day per cow, with a ratio 1 :5.9. Several cents higher than 

 it had been in the early winter months. The average cost of 

 production for one gallon of milk for the year, Alarch, '02, to 

 March, '03, was eight cents, under modern sanitary conditions. 

 Of course the calf, the manure (which is carefully saved) and 

 skimmed milk are expected to, and do pay for the attendance of 

 the cow, which amounts with us to about 5 cents per day. 



