FAEM ORGANIZATION IN SOUTHWESTERN MINNESOTA 
53 
only at night. They were in the pasture until November, when they 
were turned into the stalk fields. Beginning the first week in Decem- 
ber, they were confined to the yard and by the last of the month 
Distribution of Labor on Dairy Cows 
JAN. FEB. MAR. APR. MAY JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT. NOV. DEC 
Fig. 15.— The cows are usually on pasture during the summer when the farmer is rushed with 
field work and receive less attention than during the winter months 
YOUNG DAIRY CATTLE 
were kept in the barn all the time. This labor distribution is typical 
of the better dairy herds where the cows are stabled in winter and 
given the care and attention necessary for high production. 
Young dairy cattle include not only heifers being raised for sale 
or use in the herd, or bulls raised for sale as breeding stock, but also 
calves to be vealed, and both heifers and steers to be sold as stockers 
or feeders or to be fed on the farm. The number of head of young 
dairy cattle is less on those farms where Holsteins and Jerseys are 
kept, because the male calves are nearly all vealed and only the heifers 
raised. On the farms where Shorthorn cows are milked, few veals 
are sold. The male calves are castrated and raised for sale as yearling 
or 2-year-old steers. The large number of young cattle on farm 1 
(Table 39) is due to the fact that all calves are raised and retained in 
the herd until 2 or 3 years of age. There are the calves from at least 
three years on hand all the time. 
The usual practice in handling calves in these dairy herds is to 
wean them a few days after birth, feed them on whole milk for a 
short time, and then gradually replace this with skim milk. Exten- 
sive utilization of pasture and roughage is practiced with this young 
stock. Liberal grain feeding is only practiced in case of the older 
animals, expecially steers that are being fattened. 
The unit requirements for these young dairy cattle are presented 
in Table 39. Since this class includes all ages and weights of cattle 
from veal calves to heavy 2 and even 3 year old steers, unit require- 
ments are based on an animal unit. 13 No attempt has been made to 
compute a physical product for this class of cattle ^ther than the 
number maintained. 
13 See footnote 6 , p. 14. 
