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Show , ,-, -.. - - 1 A TEN-YEAR RECORD. Valuable Points for the Dairy Farmei Suggested by Nebraska 8tation. In October. 1S9C. the dnlry herd ot tho Nebraska experiment station was established Tor tho purpose of supplying supply-ing milk and cream to tho class room and nlso to furnish unltnuls whlrh could be ns'cd In various prnctlcnl experiments. ex-periments. Tho herd was stnrted with ten animals mid Increased to 27. During Dur-ing the ten years. 100 complete yearly records were recorded. ThoTirceds of the herd were principally Jerseys and Holstelns, with sotno Shorthorns and a few grades of various breeds. All records were carefully kept from day to day during tho ten years and all the records woro compiled. Tho 100 rco ords show an average ot 6,513.2 pounds of milk, nnd 332.68 pounds of butter por cow per year. This nvorngo mado by a number of different breeds covering cover-ing a period of ten yenrs gives n reliable reli-able basis for figuring. Tho conclusions deducted from the t.atn are as follows: As a rule, short lactation periods result In n high per cent, of fat, whllo long periods glvo u lower per cent, of fat. A large flow of milk Is generally associated as-sociated with a low per cent, of fat. whllo n smull flow gives n higher test. It was found, howover, that tho amount of butter fat did not vary as much as the milk flow or tho per cent, of fat. Iu most cases heifers, with their first calf did pot show as high n test is they did at n moro mature uge. The per cent, of butter fat did not scent to be changed hy tha food ration given. In order to know tho valuo of a dairy hord and It3 mombers, .It Is necessary to keep a milk and butter fat record of each cow from year to year. Such a record will show variation varia-tion In tho valuo ot tho anlmnls and will servo ns a guide In building up tho herd. Tho cows varied from year to year in their butter fat production. Tho good cows were Inclined tntve large yields year after year, whllo tho poor ones were In nearly all cases low. It was found that, as a rule, the variation tn milk flow In Individual cows from year to year was due to length of lactation and rest before freshening. A long lactation period favors a larger milk production; also, u long period of rest before freshening brings tho samo result. Tlio years 1905 and 1906 were used to found tho data of this exporlment, nnd speclnl caro was taken to record it&-si-'B c8Kt- Katy Holsteln. Record for 1006: 18,573.4 Pounds Milk, 620.44 Poundl Butter Fat, 723.85 Pounds Butter In 365 Days. accurately nil data concerning the amount of feed consumed by tho cows, Tho principal feeds given woro ns follows: fol-lows: For roughago, alfalfa hay, corn Bllago and pasture; for concentratesi corn, bruu, oats and linseed-meal. Tho prices charged for the foods were based on tho average market price during tho tlmo they wero fed. Tho butter fat produced was credited to tho cows at the market value, based on prices paid by tho creameries of the Btate. Tho conclusions from this test aro as follows; Tho. amount of milk nnd buttor fat produced depends upon the dnlry capacity ca-pacity of tho nnlmal and tho amount and quality of tho ration used. Cows vary In their cost of keep, also In their ability to u'so economically tho food consumed. . Cows of n. decided dairy typo ulll to-turn to-turn the greatest profit when fed to their full capacity. Tho average cost of feeding n dairy cow, as shown hy theso records, is about 30 per year, and tho total value of buttor fat Is about $70, leaving leav-ing nn averngo of about $40 for labor aud profit, In addition to the value of tho sklm-mllk nnd tho valuo of tho calf. It Is fair to state that tho calf, sklm-mllk sklm-mllk and ruauuro will balatice the labor required to euro for the cow, und the net oarulngs per cow would thbro-fore thbro-fore be $10 per year. |