90 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



WHY WE NEED BETTER DAIRY COWS 



J. R. Dawson, Bureau of Dairying, U. S. D. A. 



Success in dairy farming depends largely upon three 

 factors — the man, the feed and the cow. As a dairyman, 

 the man must have a keen interest in the business and 

 must strive to keep himself informed as to the factors that 

 will influence his profit. A dairyman may be likened to a 

 factory manager and it is just as necessary that he watch 

 the details of his factory or plant as it is for the manager 

 of an automobile factory or coal mine or creamery. He 

 must know the conditions under which he is operating 

 and must have an accurate knowledge of his workers so 

 that he can eliminate or discharge those that are not 

 efficient. His is a big job and it is one that can not be 

 mastered in a year or two. 



As a grower and buyer of goods he must provide suit- 

 able rations which will furnish proper food nutrient for 

 his cows at a low cost. While both of these points are im- 

 portant, it is probable that success will come only in pro- 

 portion to the kind of cows a man keeps. I am not re- 

 ferring to the breed of cows but to the ability of those 

 animals to produce. I have often been asked in my work 

 as to which is the best breed of dairy cattle. That is a 

 difficult question to answer from, a general point of view, 

 because one might just as well attempt to say which is the 

 bast automobile, tractor, binder or header. There are sev- 

 eral breeds of dairy cattle that have been developed along 

 particular lines for many years and they have been found 

 entirely satisfactory from a breed standpoint. Some of 

 these breeds in view of their characteristics are suited for 

 particular purposes and conditions. They are all satis- 

 factory if properly handled. In choosing a breed or a 

 purebred bull to grade up a herd, one should study the 

 conditions and opportunities for a particular breed in 

 his locality. 



