ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



19 



carefully as was the case the year previous. The standard ration for that 

 year was 6 parts bran, 4 of barley, 3 of corn and 1 of oil meal, although a 

 portion of time wheat was substituted for barley and corn as an experi- 

 ment. The yield for the herd this year ranged from 3,643 pounds of milk 

 to 7,769 pounds and averaged 4,910 pounds, while the yield of butter 

 ranged from 188 pounds to 355 pounds and averaged 272 pounds. The 

 average cost for feed was ?29.72, the cost to produce 100 pounds of milk 

 60.5 cents and a pound of butter 10.9 cents. The average market price for 

 butter at Elgin was 28 cents. 



The chief cause of the low yield of the herd was due to the frequent 

 changes that took place in the herd, though lighter feeding and feeding 

 experiments had some bearing upon it. No attempt was made to pro- 

 duce milk at minimum cost by selecting feed that would provide protein 

 at least cost. Wheat did not prove an economical feed for dairy cows, 

 since its feeding value was only equal to corn and barley, pound for 

 pound. Such food stuffs as corn, barley, and wheat have practically the 

 same value for milk production, and that feed should be selected which is 

 the cheapest per pound. Prairie hay and timothy have an equal feeding 

 value, but they, like oats, are generally too expensive. 



The following formulas give the proportions in which the different 

 feeds were gvien when timothy was compared with prairie hay: 



NUTRIENTS IN RATIONS COMPOSED OF GRAIN AND TIMOTHY. 





Lbs. 



D. M. 



Digestible. 



Cost. 



FOOD. 



Pro. 



C-H. 



Fat. 



Cents. 



Bran 



Barley 



Corn 



6.17 

 3.08 

 3.08 

 L65 

 14.00 



5.53 

 2.72 

 2.72 

 L50 

 12.28 



.71 

 .29 

 .31 

 .45 

 .44 



2.36 

 L84 

 2.04 

 .52 

 6.32 



.22 

 .06 

 .09 

 .12 

 .25 



3.39 

 2.15 



2.15 



Oil Meal 



2.14 



Timothy 



2.24 







24.75 



2.20 



13.08 



.74 



13.75 



