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Show SPECIAL SECTION. a year to maintain one "to get the kind of production we're getting." Animals in Summers' fresh herd get an average of 26 pounds of grain mixed $1,562 cow with concentrate, 15 pounds of hay, 1.5 pounds of cottonseed, 40 pounds of corn silage, 2 pounds of syrup plus salt and mineral, all in a day. That figures out to $2.38 a day to feed the animal, another $1.20 for miscellaneous costs such as veterinarian services and 70 cents for labor per cow per day. The dairyman and farmers, in general, have to be efficient. Summers gets paid about as much today for his milk as he did in 1960. Meanwhile, hay cost him about $15 a ton then, and goes for $60 now. Summers proudly points out that based on his own operation, the dairyman's production has increased about 300 percent, while labor's has increased about seven percent in the same time, "That's what saved the farmer." "You've got to make everything work or you're not going to be here very long," he added. "I know of four right around here who have gone out of business in the last four years." Summers says, jokingly and seriously, that the difference in the dairy business today and 15 years ago is that "15 years ago I was making a little money." "When I. started in 1952 there were 3,000 Grade A producers (in Utah), now there are 650. Of course, they've gotten bigger and more efficient." Now, each farmer in the U. S. must produce enough food to feed 59 people and he does his job so well that surpluses drive the prices downward. Summers' operation, for instance, produces 5,800 pounds of milk a day, or almost three tons. That computes out to about 725 gallons of milk in the store. With the help of his three full-tim- hired e hands, Summers is continually ing his herd to keep the efficiency at peak. In an average year he'll get rid of about a third of his herd, replacing cows whose pro- duction has dropped or sometimes getting rid of an animal whose temperament casuses problems. From the day an animal is born he becomes part of Summers' record system, following a strict plan of action designed to get the most for the least. A calf born today will be fed milk for two months then moved on to hay for another three months. At that point corn silage is added to the diet for another 12 months. At from 16 to 18 months the heifers are bred and, hopefully, 9 months later, calve. It takes three years to get a newborn cow into production in the dairy herd. Of ten head of heifers, the dairyman will have one who doesn't catch at breeding time and of the ten, "if you've got six left after the first year of milking, you're lucky," Summers said. The producing cow is dried up fifty days before she is expected to calve. For the first four days she gets very little feed and then she is moved into another corral for two weeks and fed corn silage and hay. Then she is moved again to the "steam up" corral where the animal gets all the nutrients necessary for the calf she'll soon have. As soon as the animal hf LEADER-GARLAN- TIMES, February D oy GET! . L I A , 17. 1977. S, automotive machine shop work VALVE GRINDING CYLINDER HEAD RECONDITIONING BRAKE SERVICE and QUALITY PARTS CAll Quinney's, Inc. "SINCE 1945" 46 North Tremont St. Tremonton, Utdi Phone: 1 84337 257-547- jfJAPAt INSTALLERS OF QUALITY PERFECT CIRCLE PRODUCTS II V ifrf ZWJtLSmLiJ .SUMMERS CREDITS his help for much of the success of his dairy operation. freshens she is put on full grain as fast as possible, getting up to 25 to 30 pounds a day. The process then starts all over. A believer in keeping up to date, summers is also a believer in a good education for today's young farmer. "Education is a short-cu- t to learning," he said.. "The thing they don't teach in college is common sense," he added. That often has to learned on the job. One of his hired hands is taking a college night course at the present time. A farmer has to be a "cow milker, nutritionist, have a knowledge of veterinary, economics, agronomy, mechanics" and be a busi- ness manager besides, Summers pointed out. Cont'd on next page look for this sign of the experts For professional Page With spring just around the corner, we're here to help you with all your machinery needs ! |