328 



Cost of Food in Production of Milk. 



[SEPT., 



while the one where the cost was least was the heaviest 

 milking one, yet the cows of both herds were fed 10 lb. of meal 

 daily, and an equal weight of hay, straw, and roots. Feeding 

 cows in such a haphazard manner is certainly neither the way 

 to make most out of the food or out of the cows, and clearly 

 indicates what room there is for improvement in this direction. 

 If one producer is able to make a profit and live, as this member 

 seemed to do, after incurring an outlay for food of y^d. on each 

 gallon of milk produced, then those must have been doing 

 extremely well who were producing at 3^. to 3-Ji. per gallon for 

 food. 



Kirkcudbright District. — A great part of the country in 

 which the members of the Kirkcudbright and District Milk 

 Record Association reside is much better suited for the growth 

 of turnips than that of any of the associations hitherto referred 

 to. The members, therefore, used them more freely than 

 those in Ayrshire or Lanarkshire. With four exceptions 

 all the members used turnips, and although not fed in very 

 large quantity, still they formed a very much larger portion 

 of the daily ration than any of those previously considered. 

 The average weight of turnips consumed per cow per day on 

 those farms where they were used was 35-6 lb. 



This association only started at the beginning of April, so 

 that the expert made only three visits to each farm before the 

 cows went to grass. In the ration, hay was freely used on most 

 of the farms, but meals or cakes were not fed to the same extent 

 as in Ayrshire or Lanarkshire. The average daily ration was 

 composed as follows : — Hay, 10 lb. ; oat straw, 5 lb. ; turnips, 

 35*6 lb. ; meals and cakes, 7 lb. ; and bran, f lb. In the three 

 associations in the southern counties the rates at which the 

 home produce was valued were from 20 to 25 per cent, lower 

 than those used in connection with Ayrshire and Lanarkshire, 

 and this has correspondingly reduced the cost of production in 

 these districts. Farmers sending dairy produce from these 

 districts have to accept a lower price than if they had been nearer 

 the seat of consumption, and have besides to pay higher rates 

 for carriage on their milk and feeding stuffs. In consequence 

 of these additional charges little extra profit remains, even 

 although the cost of production is cheapened, as the one just 

 about balances the other. 



