1922.] Value of Food Records. 989 



this article to show that such food records are of distinct value to 

 the farmers belonging to the Society in enabling them to 

 correct and to reduce the cost of feeding, and that the practice 

 could be extended to milk recording societies in other counties 

 with considerable advantage. 



The cost of taking the food records is nil. The milk recorder 

 visits the farm in the course of his ordinary duties and he 

 usually has ample time, in addition to seeing the milk of each 

 cow weighed, and marking the calves, to weigh the concen- 

 trated foods that are being used and to get at any rate a rough 

 idea of the quantity of roots and fodder that is being fed. The 

 prices of the various feeding stuffs are obtained from the 

 farmer, and this information, with the number of cows in milk 

 and the quantity of milk they have given in the day, is 

 forwarded by the milk recorder to the agricultural organiser. 

 The agricultural organiser calculates the cost of the ration and 

 its composition, compares the ration with the scientific require- 

 ments of the cows, and sends the completed figures back to the 

 t farmer with his criticisms and suggestions as to how improve- 

 ments might be effected. 



During the winter 1920-21 every farmer was invited to put his 

 own cost-of-production prices on his roots, hay and straw, other 

 feeding stuffs being taken at the actual prices paid for them, 

 and these figures were used in getting out each farmer's return 

 for his own information ; but for comparing one farmer's results 

 with another it has been found desirable to charge the same 

 cost per ton for roots, hay, straw, etc., in every case. The 

 prices agreed upon were as follows : — v 



Hay 7 per ton. 



Straw 3 10 per ton. 



Mangolds and Cabbages 1 10 per ton. 



Swedes ; 2 5 per ton. 



Cakes and Meals at purchase price. 



The above prices have been used for every farm and for every 

 visit in the calculations embodied in this article. 



Between November 20th, 1920, and April 15th, 1921, eighty- 

 eight food records of herds on their full winter ration were 

 submitted by members of the Kent Milk Recording Society, 

 through the milk recorders, to the agricultural organiser in 

 order that the cost and composition of the ration might be 

 worked out and the same criticised. The food records from- 

 some farmers were only submitted once in the course of the 

 winter; in other cases farmers submitted their food records 



