Clarke Courier

Cow Works Three Months to Give

Year's Milk for One Person

In ninety days of hard labor on the part of the average dairy cow will keep one person in milk for a year, according to the Larrowe Institute of Animal Economics. At least, it takes three months for her to turn out the 1,004 pounds of milk necessary to provide the fluid and canned milk, cheese, butter and ice cream consumed per capita per year.

While this fact may be merely interesting to the person consuming the milk, it is of vital importance to the dairyman who depends upon this milk for a living. For while the 4,368 pounds of milk produced by the average cow in a year will meet the requirements of a family of four persons, by the time one has figured up the cost of the feed that has gone into the production, there really isn't very much left. The only way to permanently increase the income per cow is in greater milk production per unit, government figures showing that when a cow's milk yield is doubled the profit is tripled, and when the yield is tripled the profit is increased almost five-fold.

Experiments have proven that it is entirely possible by better feeding and management to increase the milk yield of the average cow to a point where three cows could supply four families with milk. To do this, however, the hocus-pocus feeding so commonly practiced on many dairy farms will have to give way to more scientific methods. Comfortable quarters for the cows, an abundance of fresh water at all times, a plentiful supply of good hay, and a properly balanced green ration are some of the things that go far toward securing greater profit per cow.