Care, Feed and Management of the Dairy Herd

Dairy farming is rapidly increasing in popularity in almost every section of Iowa because the dairy cow has characteristics which not only give her present popularity but also Insure it for all time to come. One of the chief advantages of dairy farming Is that the dairy cow fits admirably in diversified and Intensive farming where the farmer strives to produce the greatest possible Income from a small acreage and yet retain the fertility of his farm. In Europe, the dairy cow is the foundation of agriculture In the most prosperous countries, such as Denmark and Holland. Proof that she Is adapted to high priced land may be found on the Jersey Isle, where ground rentals run from $50 to$60 per acre annually, and in Holland where farms rent from $30 to$40 per acre. In both places land Is used largely for dairy farming. In Iowa, land Is constantly getting dearer, yet by using silos and soiling crops, tilling the farm Intensively and purchasing some concentrated nitrogenous foods, It is not out of the question to keep one cow to each acre of ground, and even more under certain conditions. Poultry and swine raising may be carried on most successfully on the dairy farm because of the feeding value of the skim milk, a valuable by-product

Soiling Crops to Supplement Iowa Pastures

The pastures upon most Iowa farms do not furnish enough feed for the cattle during the hot, dry months of summer. The problem of supplying the necessary feed most economically Is Important and may be solved by one or a combination or the following methods: 1. Better care and management of pastures. 2. Use of summer silo. 3. Use of soiling crops

Influence of environment and breeding in increasing dairy production

Data secured in an investigation which has now been under way for eight years at the Iowa Agricultural Experiment station give direct support to the belief that a good paying dairy herd can be built up from a foundation of common cows thru proper methods of feeding and management and thru the use of a good purebred dairy sire. The results of this work are presented in a preliminary way in this bulletin and will be given in more complete form when the investigation has been carried further. Investigations of this kind are fundamental to the task of increasing dairy production to meet increasing demands for dairy products because they seek to find ways of getting more milk and butterfat from the overwhelming majority of common cows. There are in the United States, according to government reports, more than 20,000,000 so-called dairy animals whose average production is not half as much as it might be if proper methods of selection, breeding, feeding and management were followed by all dairy farmers. Any information that will help to build up better and more productive dairy herds from these animals is consequently of large value

Influence of environment and breeding in increasing dairy production-III

The constant growth of the dairy industry constitutes a notable phase in the history of American agriculture. That the industry will continue to grow is beyond question. The wider knowledge of the food value of dairy products, the increasing demands in America for intensive and economical production, to which demands dairying is especially adapted, and the more general recognition of . the financial possibilities that lie in dairy farming all attest the view that the greatest development of the industry is yet to be realized. Good dairy cows are indisputably the foundation upon which this development will depend and what is just as true, such development will be accompanied by a steadily increasing demand for these good cows

Feeding Corn Silage to Farm Animals

The silo has, for a long time, been proving its value to the live stock farmer. It should form a part of the permanent improvements of every live stock farm. Experienced feeders from all parts of the country testify to the good qualities of silage. Information concerning the use of this feed is being sought from every available source. In answer to the many questions that arc being daily received at the Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station, this bulletin has been prepared. Corn silage only is discussed herein because it is the staple silage of Iowa

The value of corn, oil meal, cottonseed meal, and gluten feed in work horse rations

These experiments have not been continued long enough with each feed to suggest infallible conclusions. The work has been carried through two years, however, under excellent conditions for accurate work, and there has been in the fundamental effects of the rations a close similarity of results with the different pairs of horses. While the subject merits more extended study, and future work might give somewhat different results, it seems that the results already obtained justify the following conclusions: 1. The health, spirit, and endurance of work horses were the same when fed corn with a moderate amount of oil meal, or gluten feed, or cottonseed meal; as when fed a corn and oats ration supplying a similar nutritive ratio. 2. The ration of corn and oil meal maintained the weight, flesh, and appearance of the horses fully as well and with less expense than the one of similar nutritive value composed of corn and oats

Hogging-down corn---A successful practice

“Hogging-down” of corn is a practical and efficient method of gathering the crop and feeding the hogs. Farmers who have tried it are almost unanimously agreed that the method is economical and successful. The most enthusiastic “hogging-down” men are those who have followed the method longest. The animal husbandry section of the Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station has in practical tests convincingly justified this faith of the practical men

Soiling crops for milk production

Rapid increase in the price of grains and concentrates, used in feeding dairy cows for milk production, has quickened the interest of dairymen in the feeding problem. The urgent demand for human food has resulted in a more extended use of cereals for that purpose, a practice which has limited quite largely the quantities of grain available for live stock feeding. The curtailment in the use of grain demands that more reliance be placed upon roughages in the ration in order to supply the nutrients required by heavy producing dairy cows. The importance of leguminous hays and corn silage as a basis for any satisfactory winter ration, which has for its purpose the stimulation of the dairy cow to her most economical production and the efficient saving of grain, has been amply demonstrated. However, the practice in so far as summer feeding may be concerned, is more varied

Succulent feeds for dairy cows in summer

Profits in dairy operations are determined largely by the roughages available on a dairy farm. Successful dairymen plan feeding practices according to the roughages they have at hand. The kind and amount of grain they feed depends upon the roughage, being employed largely to supplement any possible deficiency in the roughages

Forage crops for hogs

When it is understood that the profits on forage fed spring pigs can be increased more than five fold over those fed in dry lot, the great value of green pastures in pork production becomes clear. In 1911, pigs grazed upon alfalfa at the Iowa Agricultural Experiment station returned a profit of more than $3.00 each, as compared to 61 cents in dry lot. The yearly net profits with spring pigs on an acre of forage at Ames, counting corn at 50 cents a bushel and hogs at$5.00, has ranged with the best forages from $30.00 to$80.00. In 1909, an acre of red clover netted on this basis, $32.34; oats, red clover and rape,$32.30; in 1910, sweet clover, $42.07; rape,$37.57; and red clover, $34.62; in 1911, rape,$80.37; alfalfa, $65.99; and oats, field peas and rape,$64.63. Such profits encourage the growing of hog forages. The average daily profit on young pigs grazing in forage is invariably higher than on those confined to pens