Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 281, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 December 1917 — FEED IMPORTANCE FOR WINTER DAIRY [ARTICLE]

FEED IMPORTANCE FOR WINTER DAIRY

Economy in Feeding Cows as Individuals and Not as Herd— Expert Tells of Errors. Quantity of feed ranks next to the kind of feed in dairy rations. Economical feeding demands that cows he fed as individuals, and not as a herd. Too frequently each cow in a herd is fed the same amount of grain, regardless of how much milk she is producing. By this practice some cows will be underfed, while others will be overfed. It should be understood that an animal always lises a certain amount of the food it receives to maintain the body. This is the first use to which the food is put, and is called the ration of maintenance. This amount is required by the animal whether or not she is producing milk. All feed above this amount is used for milk production, or is stored on the body of the animal as fat. In the case of the young animal part of this excess is used for growth. v

Of the two mistakes made in feeding, perhaps ' Underfeeding is most common, according to C. Eckles of the Missouri College of Agriculture. It is a serious mistake.to fged a cow only enough to keep up her body. She must receive feed to keep her milk production up to capacity. If a cow loses weight while in milk, she is not receiving sufficient food. A good cow If not fed enough, will produce milk for a time at the expense of her body; that is, she will take the surplus flesh from her body, and convert It into talik and thereby will lose live weight. On the other hand, when a cow is overfed she will begin to fatten in a short time. This condition may be corrected by giving hfer only the she needs for maintenance and. for milk production. Such, feeding will maintain practically a uniform weight. Roughness is the first important consideration In feeding cows. A cow

is not contented unless her stomach is full. She should always have all the roughness that she will clean up and then the amount of grain she receives should be regulated by the amount of milk produced. A dry cow In good condition should be-fed roughness only, and does not need any grain. In feeding grain to milk producing cows, the following rule may be used, and is found to work fairly well: Feed one pound of grain for each three pounds or pints of milk produced. A Jersey cow producing very rich milk may need a little more grain than the amount given.