18 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



of milk and three hundred seven pounds of fat. This was ac- 

 compHshed by selhng off the unprofitable cows, feeding the good 

 cows a balanced ration and by purchasing a few good cows. 

 The cows during this period were mostly all mature cows. After 

 1906 about one- third of the herd consisted of two and three-year- 

 old heifers. 



The herd now not only pays for feed consumed, but also 

 for all labor, interest on money invested, and rent of barn and a 

 nice profit besides. 



Value of a Good Sire 



Cow No. 21 11289 lbs. milk and 380 lbs. fat 



Dam 7614 lbs. milk and 246 lbs. fat 



Increase 3675 lbs. milk and 134 lbs. fat 



Cow No. 32 9603 lbs. milk and 335 lbs. fat 



Dam 7614 lbs. milk and 246 lbs. fat 



Increase 1989 lbs. milk and 89 lbs. fat 



Cow No. 17 8912 lbs. milk and 361 lbs. fat 



Dam 5970 lbs. milk and 270 lbs. fat 



Increase 2942 lbs. milk and 91 lbs. fat 



Cow No. 24 11199 lbs. milk and 397 lbs. fat. 



Dam 8199 lbs. milk and 264 lbs. fat 



Increase 3000 lbs. milk and 133 lbs. fat 



Cow No. 36 10010 lbs. milk and 419 lbs. fat 



Dam 6141 lbs. milk and 325 lbs. fat 



Increase 3861 lbs. milk and 94 lbs. fat 



The above figures go to show the value of a pure bred sire 

 at the head of the herd. The daughters of these sires consume 

 very little more feed than their dams did and yet they produce 

 about three thousand pounds milk more than their dams. This 

 increase is practically all profit. 



It must, however, not be inferred from the foregoing that 

 all the heifers sired by a pure bred sire will show so large an in- 

 crease in production as these cows do. But "by keeping a record 

 of the production of each cow you can weed out the low producers 

 and in time will have a very profitable herd. 



