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Show By Robert S. Murdock County Agricultural Agent Management of Open Sheds Some dairymen tend to neglect their open sheds more when spring work begins than they did during winter months. Don't do this as it may prove to be costly negligence. negli-gence. Farmers who manage properly will add fresh straw as it is needed. need-ed. This is usually every other dav or three times a week and amounts to about 10 pounds of i straw per cow per day. On days when he does not add new bedding, bed-ding, the dairyman should spend a few minutes turning over the droppings to leave a dry, clean bed for the cows. This type of management should continue as long as the lounging shed is in use. When cows go on pasture and the sheds are not in use, the surface of the shed should be left with a covering of a few inches of straw. If sheds are managed this way, the dairyman will achieve three important and valuable objectives: (1) He will have clean cows, and only clean cows can produce clean I milk; (2) flies will not be reproduced repro-duced under these sheds; and (3) the fertility value of the manure pack under the shed will be preserved, pre-served, and the straw in the pack rotting during the summer months may improve in fertility value. A dairyman who uses these practices can clean his open shed in the fall of the year and apply the manure to his land before the fall plowing. This will save much fertilizer value. By poor management of open sheds, the dairyman will not only lose the advantages mentioned but may also produce an inferior quality qual-ity of milk that is not acceptable on the market. Good shed man- agement will bring him extra dollars dol-lars from cleaner milk and better fertilizer. |