Show COWS NEED PROPER SUPPLY OF WATER point that wise dairyman will remember it costs cost a lot to have a cow carry water says A U M goodman of the new york state college of agriculture he cites the experience of john lonergan of tully N Y who found that it took 20 cows to give nine cans of milk a day when the herd drank from the creek in winter and 18 cows gave the same amount when they had water in brinkl ng bowls beside each cows stanchion in the barn one cow in every ten to matte make up for the loss due to watering fit at the creek or as he says one cow in every ten carries water for the other nine mr lonergan says that when we the cows drank from the creek they did not drink all they needed now they drink a lot of water after they eat their grain and also in the evening after they have finished their bay mr goodman recommends the modern drinking bowls with a supply valve operated by a paddle rather than the old type where the water level for the whole row of stanchions Is controlled by one float valve piping water Is a simple job and the cost of pipe and fittings Is lower than it has been for several years he says A leaflet describing the installation Is free on request to the department of agricultural engineering at the new york state college of agriculture at ithaca N Y ask for splendid dairy record hung up by ohio man charles barnhart of the madison darby dairy herd improvement association was awarded the state honor tor for ohio by the dairy tribune since he had the highest herd average thus fai far reported in cow testing circles says the ohio farmer and his record Is the sixth highest in the united states reported to this publication j the highest record was pounds of butterfat per cow to in the herd of robert roomer roemer of colorado the record of the barnhart herd was pounds of milk and pounds of butterfat per cow for the year with an average of 11 cows in production for the 12 months these were jersey and guernsey grade cows the feed cost averaged a head but the profit over feed cost was figured at for the year and the labor income for the herd was or an average of 60 50 cents an hour labor income value of salt cups recent tests show that salt and mineral cups which are a rather new piece of barn equipment have been responsible for increased milk flow these cups are used in connection with automatic drinking bowls and attach to the stanchions within convenient reach of the cows besides supplying needed mineral food for milk production constant access to salt also stimulates thirst and results in the consumption of greater quantities of water many dairymen report that the definite nite increase in milk flow will pay for the low cost of the cups in two or three months time I 1 much investigation has been made to determine the best design and shape for salt cups it has been found that cows will waste much of the mineral miner at if the containers are shallow and wide topped consequently the tendency Is to make the cups with rather narrow openings so that the cow can reach the salt with her tongue only southern agriculturist three times tim es a day milking in a few herds in this country and la in more in the scandinavian countries the cows are milked three times dally daily for the increased milk and fat that comes from frequent milking but we doubt if the practice will ever become common on family sized farms where it would mean that the same would have to be in attendance ft at all three mil bilkings kings with labor cheaper it may be possible and profitable on larger dairy farms where the help could be so arranged that no man would have to milk more than twice a day |