Show NEW WAY A A A OF BUILDING DAIRY AIL A RATION LETS COW GET GE ann I 1 MORE OUT OF FEED FOR MAKING MILK anyone knowing feedstuffs feed stuffs will readily agree that alfalfa hay Is a much better feed for dairy cattle than corn cobs yet on a total digestible nutrient T D N basis the long recognized standard for judging feed values there a appears to be little difference in lbs ibs of alfalfa hay there are 50 lbs ibs of digestible nutrients while lbs ibs of corn cobs contain lbs ibs ot of digestible nutrients according to T D N X measurement then the difference between alfalfa hay bay and corn cobs is less than 4 lbs ibs to the hundred even though the producing ability of the one is known to be far greater than the other this simple comparison Is one of many that caused scientists to decide that the existing T D N basis tor for judging the productive capacity of feeds and hages needed to be revised and replaced by more accurate methods according to meade summers head of the dairy department part ment of purina mills many men in the dairy business today can remember when the first so called balanced rations were introduced says summers college professors fes sors teed feed mani and dairymen began talking about proteins and carbohydrates and how they should be balanced and well bred well los ts valra 0 I 1 total digestible nutrients 50 lbs total digestible nutrients nutrient net energy net energy IS 13 2 cherms fed cows began to step up production to almost unbelievable amounts compared to what they had been producing digestibility Is big factor later scientists working in laboratories discovered that proteins and carbohydrates bo were not the whole story that a feed must have digestibility as well it was found that the more feed a cow could digest and make use of the more milk she would produce the discovery of digestible nutrients was a big step forward in the dairy industry summers says but in laboratories and on experimental farms there were research workers who were not entirely satisfied with the progress made they felt that total digestible nutrients did not tell the whole story they were the hunger hun ger fighters of the dairy indus industry try who realized that dairy breeding was still far ahead of dairy feeding that the american cow was capable of producing a lot more milk if they could find the feed that would bring it out of her among them were two dairy scientists at pennsylvania state college who received notice for their work with a machine that showed exactly what happened to each pound of feed when it passed through a cow they put a living animal inside the machine and made their tests they discovered as many any scientists and advanced dairymen men had believed they would that total digestible nutrients was not the final measure of a feed this machine in measured ea the energy used in digesting teed feed they found more energy was used in digesting some feeds than others net energy values their findings explain why alfalfa hay is a better dairy feed than corn cobs even though the two products are practically equal in total digestible nutrients so much energy Is burned up by the cow in digesting the corn cobs that only cherms of net productive energy remain out of the lbs ibs of digestible material in lbs ibs of cob on the other hand the alfalfa hay is so much more easily digested that far less energy Is used up in the process of digestion and leaving 38 cherms of net energy from 50 lbs ibs of digestible material in lbs ibs eaten that means that alfalfa hay has practically three times the feeding value of corn cobs recently professor G S frapas of the university of texas one of the outstanding dairymen of the nation came to the front with a statement corroborating rob orating these tests says summers crapps said that all dairy feeds were being figured on the wrong basis and that productive energy values should replace the use of total digestible nutrients as it had done to in europe many years ago of course it is still very important to have a properly balanced ration and it is also important that the ration be high in total digestible nutrients ts however it Is most important of all to go one step farther and see that ration is rich in cherms of net energy for producing mills milk after the cow has digested the teed feed about 2 years ago purina mills gan a series of feeding tests at the tha purina experimental farm to determine the effectiveness of this net energy basis for building a dairy feed the climax of this experimental work was reached in a test with 60 grade cows divided in 2 herds of SO 30 head each checked ind and double checked one herd was fed the regular purina dairy ration on the market at the time high in total digestible nutrients says summers the other herd was fed a ration both high in total digestible nutrients and rich in cherms of net energy the result was startling both herds did well but the cows on the therm rich feed averaged 40 pounds of milk dally daily while the cows receiving the regular purina ration gave 35 pounds of milk tests were repeated for a second fun full lactation period with verifying results for final and conclusive proof the herds were reversed and the cows that had been given the regular purina dairy ration were fed on the new therm rich feed while the herd that had been receiving the therm rich ration were given the purina ration the 30 cows fed on the therm rich ration confirmed the results from the first herd by this time our men in the dairy department part ment were calling these net energy units milk making cherms those 60 cows gave us the information needed to make our present im proved dairy rations today our customers have a milk making ration that no not t only has its carbohydrates and proteins balanced not only is rich in minerals not only Is high in total digestible nutrients but also is rich in milk making cherms the result to our customers Is extra do dollars ila rs of P profit t |