COWS AND THEIR FOOD.

Otago Witness, Issue 3831, 16 August 1927, Page 12

COWS AND THEIR FOOD.

Foodstuffs cost money. It therefore, behoves stock owners to make the most of the various crops grown on ths farm, whether of grass, forage, or swedes. Foodstuffs may be generously yet wastefully fed, and, seeing that the saving of a penny a gallon in the cost of feeding is equivalent to the farmer receiving an additional penny a gallon for . his milk, it surely warrants one in condemning wasteful methods. When we consider that food recounts for probably half the cost of milk production, it is amazing that this matter is not given more serious aiitention. There are many aspects from which we can view the question of feeding, some of them having appeared jn a leaflet issued by the British Ministry of Agriculture, and are presented here as meeting with approval. It is a bad practice to feed all cows alike. Every cow gives a certain quantity of milk, which is manufactured in the cow from the food supplied. It is therefore obvious that a cow giving, say, four gallons of milk daily requires more than a cow giving only two gallons. If all cows receive the •jame amount of food (or ration) regardless of the amount of milk they give, either the cows giving little milk arc being overfed and food is being wasted or else the cows giving the most milk are being underfed, and will be likely to fall off both in yield of milk and general condition. The first principle of economical feeding is to find out how much milk each cow is giving and to feed her accordingly, that is, keep milk records and feed each cow in accordance with the amount of milk she supplies. Of course, one recognises that milking cows out grazing in the early part of the season, when there is a flush of grass, do not require rationing as in the case where conditions are not so favourable; but as the season advances and recourse has to be made to the various forage crops provided it becomes a matter of portioning out the artificial fodders to advantage. It is then that the skilled dairyman can ring the changes and feed according to production, and maintain the flow of milk. A cow requires food for two purposes—in order to keep herself in condition and supply the energy for keeping up her body temperature for blood circulation, breathing, etc., and to provide the materials contained in her milk. The daily maintenance requirements of a cow in milk differ widely from that of a cow “ marking time.” Seeing that the milk is obtained from the blood, and the blood is dependent for its nourishment upon the food, it is, within certain limits, possible to so modify the food of the cow as to regulate the quantity and quality of the milk which she yields. A cow is usually in full milk, that is, the flow is most copious, from the second to the seventh week after calving. The yield then begins to diminish in quantity till eventually the cow “ goes dry.” By a plentiful supply of well-selected food, however, it is possible to materially prolong the period of most copious flow. Cows that have recently calved and are increasing gradually in their daily milk yield probably cannot be overfed, and wise management should ensure theso bigyielding cows moving from good to better pasture weekly by an arrangement of email well-grassed paddocks, with ample dean water available within easy reach. Big changes will have to happen in the 3airy world in the ’ Dominion ere owners generally realise that there is an art in feeding, and that a proper realisation of the advantages of feeding a balanced <Eet to stock is not mere scientific jargon, but a venture which has proved its value in all countries where production and yet more production was -the need of the

hour, and incidentally the making of the men who till the line! and engage in stock industries. In spring and early summer the grass is a perfectly balanced food in itself, and is approximately sufficient for maintenance and the production

of a good quantity of milk. As the season advances the feeding . value of the grass in ordinary cow pasture deteriorates, and if the milk yield is to he, sustained attention must be given to the feeding of

some succulent foodstuff. I’iie value of gra»S will vary with the season, and the best' guide to the falling off in its feeding value is to watch for any appreciable drop in the milk yield, which should be

•onnteraeted by feeding sotnfe eOr.ceiiUi.tod food. ■ ''