Show THE RUBBER ROBBER COW tho the greatest source of loss in the dairy business is the feeding ot of unprofitable cows estimates listi mates show that one third of the cows used for dair dairying Y in the united states are kept at an actual loss the dairy cow is a machine for the express purpose of manufacturing milk and manufacturing it at a profit and the instant she f fails a Is to make you this profit is the time to get rid of her the dairyman cannot afford to keep i cow at the expense of the rest of the herd the production of a cow above a certain standard artl constitutes the profit the fact that a cow gives pounds of milk a bear ear is no indication that she Is four fifths as good as it a pound cow or two thirds as good as th tho 0 one that produces luces pounds or one half as profitable as the pound producer it requires a certain amount of feed and care for a cow known as operating or maintaining expenses x it may take pounds of milk a year to pay these operating expenses and the cow that yields only pounds is being kept at no profit cow no 2 produces pounds of milk a year then 1000 pounds is produced at a profit cow no 3 2000 pounds is produced at a profit and no 4 has pounds to her credit considering si this milk as testing 3 5 per cent for butter fht fat cow no I 1 is kept at a loss no 2 would have 15 ti to her credit no 3 30 from the robber or star boarder in a herd of one cow of no as type would be as profitable to the owner as tour four similar to no 2 as the operating expenses in both instances are approximately the same it costs pr practically as rauch much to keep no 2 as no 4 and requires four times as much labor to produce the same profit the condit conditions ioni exist as before stated that one third of the dairy cows in this country are kept at an actual loss they do not even pay operating expenses how long can the farmer afford to spend 25 feeding and caring for an animal and get only 20 in return many farmers are getting excellent returns from their dairy but the profit from their better cows las as to bear the waste of the robber or star boarder why not r medy all these se conditions idaho is exceptionally well adapted for dairying there is an abundance of good w water ater a healthy climate cattle are free from contagious diseases alfalfa the premier dairy feed is easily grown root crops yield well and bar ley and oats furnish the concentrated carbohydrate rations with these conditions dit ions idaho can produce milk and butter cheaper than the east and yet minnesota iowa kansas and the middle western states ship thousands of pounds of butter into idaho and the northwestern stites states and sell at a profit to themselves one reason tor for tills this Is the fact that in the middle west they keep a better grade of cows they are continually weeding out the poorer animals and only those are kept that have proved themselves to be economical producers every da dairyman tryman in the state no mat ter it if he is only keeping five cows 1 should keep a record of 0 each cow in ills his herd in almost every instance where records are being systematically kept results astonishing to the awil owner have been obtained A pair or of scales and a babcock tester are absolutely sol essential for successful dairying keep the weight weighton of the milk at t each milking and make mal q a tat fat test of 0 each cow once a month that is the only way that the farmer can accurately giago his cow ten minutes a day will cover all the time necessary in making these records and the results obtained cannot be overestimated over estimated land values in idaho are too tco high for slack methods the robber cow has no place on your farm weed out your yair herd you may find your profits to be as great with five cows as you formerly had with eight or ten and your labor bill is cut in half 1 E V ELLINGTON dairyman southern idaho extension university of idaho deseret farmer |