16 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



Influence of Season of Freshening. 



In Table 1 the records of the cows on test 12 months in 

 64 cow-testing associations are grouped according to the 

 season when the cows freshened. 



TABLE 1. — Date of freshening, by seasons, with average yearly feed 



and production records, per cow. 

 Season Number of cows Milk Production 



Butter-fat production Cost of roughage Cost of grain 



Cost of feed Income over cost of feed 



Spring (March, April and May) 



3,196 5,842 236 $37.51 $19.22 $56.73 $70.73 



Summer (June, July and August) 



1,328 5,941 236 37.62 22.48 60.10 66.59 



Fall (September, October and November) 



2,862 6,689 268 38.94 28.45 67.39 76.65 



Winter (December, January and February) 



3,484 6,439 258 37.65 25.51 63.16 75.66 



Total and averages_.10,870 6,269 252 $37.95 $24.06 $62.01 $73.36 



The cows that freshened in the fall months ranked 

 highest in average yearly production of milk and butterf at, 

 in cost of feed and in income over cost of feed. In all these 

 points, the cows that freshened in the winter ranked second. 

 Of the 10,870 cows, 6,346 freshened in the fall and winter 

 and 4,524 freshened in the spring and summer. On an 

 average the cows that freshened in the spring produced 

 the least milk and those that freshened in the summer pro- 

 duced the least income over cost of feed. Care and quality 

 of cows are big factors in determining production and in- 

 come, but the largq number of records in each group would 

 tend to prevent great variation among group averages due 

 to such causes. 



Fewer cows freshened in the summer than at any other 

 season. This may have been due partly to a belief among 

 dairymen that it pays better to have cows freshen at some 

 other time of year, a belief that seems to be supported gen- 

 erally by the records. It is also true that the season of 

 freshening can not always be controlled. The feed bill, 

 especially the amount spent on grain, was lowest for the 

 cows that freshened in the spring. This was doubtless be- 

 cause the long pasture period, when little grain was fed, 



