DAIRYING

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LVI, 14 October 1922, Page 8

DAIRYING

Professor C. Larson makes some excel, lent iu his book, “Farm Dairying, ’ on the fall or spring freshening, some of which arc as follows:—“The annual production of a dairy cow may ho improved by having her freshen in (he autumn instead of in the spring. Thip is in no way due to the cow, biit is due to seasonable conditions and surroundings. , . . According to the author’s investigations, under the average farm conditions, the average dairy cow will produce about 20 per cent, more milk and butter-fat when freshening in the spring. Some cows will increase the production by autumn freshening considerably more than this.

Most cows are kept in pasture during the summer, and most cows on the average dairy farm freshen durug the spring. During the early spring months, when the cow is fresh, the pastures as a rule contain plenty of feed, and cows will give the maximum flow of milk, hater, pastures dry up, and heat and mosquitos, and flies make the cows uncomfortable. As a consequence the milk flow from the dairy cow freshening in the spring gradually decreases. Such a cow goes dry early, or gives very little milk when autumn or winter conditions begin. A cow that freshens in the autumn will yield a normally good flow of milk under winter conditions. When spring comes and the cow is turned on grass, the flow is materially increased. It will thus be seen that autumn freshening lengthens the lactation period, and causes a uniformly large flow of milk throughout a greater period than if the cow freshening in the spring. Second, better labour at less wage may be bad during the winter months. Raising the crops during the summer, and having the cows convert these crops into dairy and animal products during the winter, enables the fanner to keep bis help busy throughout the vear, and to make the farm a factory for producing new wealth the full yeai. Third, the'price of dairy products is usually considerably higher during the winter months. The farmer should aim to produce the greatest bulk when prices are the highest. tsiiaHv l.uttm--fat is one-third higher during the winter mouths. . . Fourth, the calves dropped in the autumn are easier to raise than aye tlftise born in the spimg. - ~ . calves do well under proper winter ice and care. When spring comes they arc from six to eight- months old, and may then be weaned and turned to ture with the other young f dropped in the spring need to , bc in or near the barn during the summer. During this time it is more di hcult to keep the milk to on.form ouah y and the heat and flies arc bother the voung calves consider.bl\• A stullv of ovh 10,000 «>“- t - ; ns nr ß sociation' records, as made by t « United Slates Department of AgnciU lure, shows that cows freshened in e autumn or early winlej wi 1j „ mo re vivo a larcer flow of milk, produce moie Stoia.T.ui f “S cost of milk production than cows tna freshen iu the"spring or summer.