INFLUENCE OF SEASON OF FRESHENING ON DAIRY COWS. 9 
yearly butterfat production went down as the date of freshening 
approached midsummer is only a little less marked than the regu- 
larity and rapidity with which yearly butterfat production went 
up as the date of freshening advanced from June to October. It 
must be remembered that these figures are the averages for 64 asso- 
ciations and that they do not hold true for every one of the associa- 
tions. 
HOW THE MONTHS RANKED. 
Table 9, which was made from the averages of the 64 associations, 
shows that the cows that freshened in the fall and winter months 
ranked high in production of milk and butterfat and in income over 
cost of feed. 
Table 9. — Months when cows freshened ranked from 1 to 12 oil yearly records of 
production, costs, and income. 
Month. 
Milk 
produc- 
tion. 
Butterfat 
produc- 
tion. 
Value 
of 
product. 
Cost of 
rough- 
age. 
Cost of 
grain. 
Total 
feed 
cost. 
Income 
over cost 
of feed. 
January . . . 
February.. 
March 
April 
May 
June 
July 
August 
September 
October . . . 
November. 
December . 
On every topic in this table the three months October, November, 
and December won the first three ranks, though not always in the 
same order. This indicates that, on an average, it generally pays 
to have cows freshen in the fall and early winter. Though they 
eat more grain, the greater production generally gives them an 
advantage all along the line. 
CONCLUSIONS. 
The study that has been made of the records from 64 cow-testing 
associations shows that fall or early winter freshening is desirable in 
most parts of the country. The influence of season of freshening is 
important, but the dairyman who has a steady market for milk 
at fair prices during all seasons of the year will usually find it to 
his advantage to keep the supply of dairy products fairly uniform 
from month to month. 
Often the results due to date of freshening are different in differ- 
ent associations, even in the same agricultural district. For that 
reason no set rule can be given as to what percentage of the cows 
should freshen each month in the year. That will vary to some 
