A VERY IMPORTANT MATTER

Hawera Star, Volume L, 26 July 1930, Page 7

A VERY IMPORTANT MATTER

(By “Bovine.’ - )

It has been contended before now that the supply of nuneral matter to the dairv cow is the limiting iaetoi mi milk production. it depends liow you look upon this matter of lending. - is as important as breeding, and vet any old grass paddock is deemed goo enough” for the dairy oow, and after she lias done her very best at the pail during the season. One hundred pounds of milk contains on the average :751b of mineral matter, so that a cow giviim upwards of 401 b of milk daily is producing: about five ounces of mineral-matter daily. In addition to the mineral matter winch is necessaiy for milk production, a considerable auantitv in needed for the proper development of the foetus, especially during the last months ol pregnancy. If not supplied, a call is made upon that stored in the body (mainly in the hones). If this is depleted tlirougn a careless disregard of a cow s requirements, the milk flow will be affected adversely, lor Nature will not alter the composition or development ot milk nor interrupt the bodily functions of the mother or the development or the foetus. Generally, feed conditions are good during the summer in respect to minerals supplies, but in cases ot heavy milk production and advancing pregnancy, it may be advisable to supply some" supplementary minerals ration. “Good pasture is not to a COW'S liking, and it is she who should be studied*. Such a Joodstufl as bran nniy be out of the question, hut there is nothing better than a. good legume, sudi as lucerne, red or other of the ordinary clovers grown on the larm. These are quite well able to supply the minet”il requirement of dairy cows if fed generously. When an extra is imply of mineral matter is deemed necessary, it may take the form of steamed edible bone meal and ground rock phosphate, one pound of each to everv 1001 bof meal, while salt should at times be available. Instead of neglecting the dairy cow during the rest period, she should be attended to m respect to her feed, otherwise the output of the subsequent milking season is jeopardised. Among the different minerals that have been recommended for feeding to dairy cows, none lias been recommended more frequently by colleges and! experiment stations (notes an exchange) than special steam bone meal. This is a. comparatively new product placed upon. the market especially suited for dairy cattle feeding purposes. It is an entirely different product than fertiliser steam bone meal or raw bone meal, and must not he confused with these products, which are unsuited for feeding purposes. Special steam bone meal is made only from carefully-selected fresh. clean bones, and is really a by-product of the gelatine-making industry, so that the special steam bone meal is sum cientlv clean that it could he very well used for human consumption. In the process of manufacture of special steam bone meal, the bone is subjected to steam under pressure at high temperature, and is then afterwards extracted with naphtha and dried and ground. In this way there is positively no opportunity whatsoever for the transmission of any disease by the feeding of this special steam bone meal. By the feeding of this special steam bone meal to a dairy herd,, one is insured against a decreased production due to an inadequate mineral supply, and at the same time one lias a healthier, thriftier, and more profitable herd. This special steam hone meal is best fed mixed right into the concentrate portion to the extent of two or three pounds per hundred pounds of feed. In this way cattle are supplied with ample quantities of calcium and phosphorus, the two minerals in which our ordinary daily rations are most apt to he deficient.