ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 2 2 [ 



their owners. Butter fat sold at 19 cents a pound, but the cow only re- 

 turned $27.00 and tlie average cost of feeding her was $26.00, so you see 

 there was about $1.00 profit from those 1000 cows kept in Iowa. And 

 haven't we got some here' in Illinois? That is what I am trying to find, 

 out. 



In Minnesota, where I come from, the Experiment Station had cows 

 that gave us a large profit, and others that gave very little, but were 

 handled in the same manner. Each mess of milk is weighed and tested 

 every day in the year, and this has been done for eleven years. I don't 

 suppose the cow has received' a ration but that it has been weighed. The 

 records are there for eleven years of each cow in the herd. The cows 

 were divided into groups. Some of the groups were classified as special 

 dairy cows, and others as the dual purpose eow and the beef type, etc. 

 Prof. Haecker found that the cows gave a great difference in profit. One 

 class of cows gave a profit of $8.00 and paying for their board 

 and the feed they consumed was figured at market prices. Another 

 group of $20.00; another group of $23.00, and the special dairy- 

 cow gave a profit of $45.00. There is this difference in cows eating the 

 same amount and kind of feed, kept in the same barn and milked by the 

 same man. One cow gave a profit of $8.00, consuming the same amount, 

 occupying the same room, taking the same amount of labor, and then 

 on the other hand, was a cow that gave a profit of $45.00. These things 

 are not impossible on the dairy farm. This $45.00 cow may be a little bit 

 higher than we can expect of the average cow for some time to come, but 

 she is by no means impossible. Here was one cow producing 500 pounds 

 of butter, and another less than 200 pounds of butter in a year. 



At the Illinois Experiment Station Mr. Fraser fed two cows. One 

 cow gave over 560 pounds of butter, and the other about 300 pounds in a 

 year, and they consumed the same amount of feed, and you will notice 

 the great difference. The only way we can find out about this is by taking 

 the Babcock test and the scales and weighing the milk from time to time 

 and also testing it. The Babcock test and the scale are not always am 

 absolute settlement for a dairy cow. 



