230 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



consumes above this can be used for milk production. This 

 maintenance ration is a fixed charge, and the more feed a cow 

 can consume above that required for maintenance the greater the 

 amount available for production. 



Feeding for profit can, therefore, be defined as liberal feed- 

 ing, or feeding to the full capacity of the cow. This point is 

 illustrated by Table i. (These figures are only approximate but 

 will serve to illustrate the point.) 



Table 1 — Approximate proportions of cows' feed required for mainten^ 

 ance and available for milk production. 











Proportion of ration 





Cost 



of main- 



Available for milk 



available for 



Cost of ration 



tenance 



for production 



production 



Cents 





Cents 



Cents 





10 





10 



. . 





15 





10 



5 



One-third 



20 





10 



10 



One-half 



25 





10 



15 



Three-fifths 



It will be noted in Table i that when the cow is fed only a 

 maintenance ration no feed is available for milk production; 

 when she is fed twice this quantity, half the feed can be used for 

 milk production ; when she is fed two and a half times the main- 

 tenance, three-fifths of the feed can be so used. One of the most 

 common mistakes in the feeding of dairy cattle on our farms is 

 that the good cows are not fed a sufficient quantity of feed above 

 that required for maintenance. This is especially true of the 

 highly specialized dairy cow ; that is, the cow which when fed all 

 she will take makes it all into milk, except what is needed for 

 maintenance. It is, however, unfortunately true that all cows 

 in the dairies of the country are not this kind. Some cows when 

 fresh make all the feed above maintenance into milk for a period 

 of several months before they begin to lay on flesh ; others, if 

 fed heavily, begin to gain in weight soon after freshening. 

 From the standpoint of economical milk production one can not 

 generally afford to give a dairy cow more than she will consume 

 without gaining in weight. There are times, however, when it ip, 

 desirable to make exceptions to this rule; for example, practic- 



