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Show rmrnm? By Robert S. Murdock County Agricultural Agent Cull Cows Create Surplus High producing cows are not the offenders in putting surplus milk and butterfat on the market mar-ket of the country. It is the cull cow that produces the dairy product at a high cost to the producer and creates the surplus sur-plus which lowers the price, says County Agent Rolbert Murdock. Mur-dock. A farmer milking 39 cows with an average annual yield of 229 pounds butterfat would make about $1500, above the cost of feed, for family living and other expenses. Such a herd would put on the market 22,327 pounds of milk and 8931 pounds of butterfat. A herd of only 15 cows would make the same approximate return to the farmer above feed cost if these cows were 425jpound producers. Yet these high-yielding cows would put on the market only 15,862 pounds of milk and 6345 pounds of butterfat. Such a herd pays the rural family's cost of living with much less labor and overhead. High unit production per cow, per acre and per man hour are the great needs of mo.dern dairying. Efficiency has always paid, both in business and on the farm. It is an American Amer-ican institution. Ten per cent, or 11,00, of Utah's 111,000 dairy cows in 1953 were high producers averaging av-eraging 9800 pounds of milk and 375 pounds of butterfat. Their owners know their production pro-duction because they keep the efficient records available from 20 Dairy Herd Improvement Associations As-sociations in 16 counties. This service is available to' all Utah dairymen. We have two associations asso-ciations in Duchesne County and I would be glad to visit with anyone desiring more information in-formation on Dairy Herd Improvement Im-provement testing. More Dollars From Heavier Calves Wise planning now by Duchesne Du-chesne County cattlemen will mean more dollars in their pockets. This is the time for you to think about next fall's weaning weight of beef calves. Care of the cows during the next six months can influence considerably the weight of beef calves by October. This is also true of the care these cows had during the last six months. Cows that get a phosphorus supplement with their range feed while they are maturing and feeding a calf will make a difference of from 50 to 75 pounds in calf weight, tests have shown. Steamed bone meal with salt and self fed to cows, will give them an essential element ele-ment with which to build bigger big-ger calves and return bigger profits to the owner. Spray Now For Weevil Control In some parts of our county the alfalfa will soon be Vz inch tall and that is the best time to spray for control of weevil. The spray recommended this year is: Alfalfa Vz to 1 inch tall, Chlordane (IV2 to 2 lbs.) spray; Duldrin or Heptachlor (4 oz.) spray. Do not allow dairy animals or animals being finished for slaughter to graze the alfalfa until after the first cutting. I would like to recommend you spray and not dust. |