26 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



SWEET CLOVER PASTURE 



(Prof. W. J. Fraser, University of Illinois) 



No fact in dairydom has been so widely demonstrated 

 or is so widely accepted at the present time as that cows 

 must be well fed to make a profit. Feeding trials have been 

 conducted by several of the leading Experiment Stations 

 which have definitely proved that production can be greatly 

 increased by the use of proper feeding methods. 



Not only is there the matter of feeding cows for high 

 production but also the feeding them at as low a cost as 

 possible to consider. The feed cost on one dairy farm may 

 be easily twice as great as that on the adjoining farm 

 simply because feeds are used which are uneconomical, 

 either due to high cost or poor milk producing qualities. 



Good Pasture Best and Cheapest Feed 



It is admitted that good pasture is the best and most 

 suitable feed which can be fed a dairy cow. It gives her 

 fresh air and exercise, thereby keeping her in fine physical 

 tone, and in addition, supplies feed which can not be im- 

 proved upon as a milk producer. 



Here in Illinois the growing season is about six months, 

 and so for one-half the year we have the opportunity of fur- 

 nishing an abundance of cheap feed for our cows which they 

 can gather themselves in the open under the most desirable 

 conditions for economic milk production. 



Cows Poorly Fed in Summer, 



It is then surprising that these six summer months 

 should be the time of year when cows are in general fed 

 the poorest, but in reality this is true. Just at this time 

 when there is the greatest opportunity for abundant and 

 cheap feed production, when the factors of nature are so 



