136 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



Another heifer produced an average of 8.6 pounds of fat a 

 week during five months of her second lactation period this 

 winter, and is doing well now. 



Now let us see what this improvement amounts to : Cows 

 Nos. I and 14 returned an average net profit of $50.00 each per 

 annum. Their daughters returned an average net profit of 

 $85.00 each. An increase in the net profits of an average of 

 $35.00 per annum each over the net profits of their dams. An 

 increase of 70 per cent. A herd of twenty cows like these 

 daughters is equal to a herd of thirty- four cows like their dams. 



In order that heifers may develop into profitable cows, they 

 must not only be well bred, but also well reared. They must be 

 well nourished on nitrogenous food, and kept in clean, dry 

 quarters from birth to maturity. 



Unless we give the young calf the proper care and nour- 

 ishment that it needs to develop, we need not look for much im- 

 provement in our dairy herds. 



The most valuable feed for calves is skim milk, alfalfa and 

 clover hay and silage. 



The question is frequently asked, "Does it pay to feed cows 

 as you do?" or some one will tell me: "Figure what you feed 

 into your cows and you have very little left." 



Now let us see, after carefully weighing the feed I feed to 

 my cows, I find that I am feeding $17.50 worth of feed to twelve 

 cows per week. 



These twelve cows return $36.25 per week on butter fat 

 alone. These twelve cows produce approximately 2,400 pounds 

 skim milk per week. This at 25 cents per cwt. is worth $6.00 

 making the total receipts $42.25 per week, a net profit of $24.75 

 over the cost of keeping these cows. These cows returned $2.45 

 for every dollar's worth of feed consumed. My herd averaged 

 307 pounds fat per cow last year. This is equivalent to 358 

 pounds butter, which at an average price of 32J4 cents per pound 

 is worth $116.35. At 25 cents per cwt. the skim milk is worth 

 $20.00 per cow, which makes a total receipt of $136.35 per cow 

 per year. 



