Dairy Cattle And Milk Production - Prepared For The Use Of Agricultural College Students And Dairy Farmers

By Clarence Henry Eckles

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Mar 23, 2011
• ISBN: 9781446545270

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PRODUCTION

DAIRY CATTLE AND MILK PRODUCTION

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

IMPORTANCE OF DAIRY FARMING—ADVANTAGES—ITS PLACE IN A SYSTEM OF PERMANENT AGRICULTURE

MILK, with its products, serves as one of the most important sources of food for all highly civilized nations. A large proportion of the best agricultural lands of the world are utilized for its production. Although milk and products of milk have been used to some extent for food as far back as history records, the general use of milk as food has come about only with the development of highly civilized nations. Martiny¹ points out that the native races of America, Africa, and Australia, which have never developed past the stage of barbarism, do not use milk as food. The primitive races of Western Asia and of Europe made use of milk, as have their descendants, and according to this author, to this fact is due in no small degree the great intellectual development of Europe and America.

To what extent this is true may be a question, but it is a well-known fact that the most prosperous agricultural nations and communities to-day are those in which the dairy cow is the foundation of agriculture. We have only to compare Russia with Denmark, and Spain with Holland, to show what the dairy cow will do for a nation. If a list were prepared of our own states, selecting those where on the average the soil fertility is best conserved, the most intelligent system of farming followed, and the highest grade of intelligence found among the people, it would be a list of the leading dairy states.

The dairy cows of the United States number nearly twenty million, and the annual value of their products reaches the enormous sum of nearly one billion dollars. Only the corn crop and animals sold for meat exceed dairy products as a source of income to the American farmer. The rapid growth in the population of our country, together with a slow but constant increase in the per capita consumption of dairy products, makes it certain that the dairy cow will in the future occupy a still more important position. Some of the fundamental reasons why the cow is certain to play an important part in the future agriculture of America are pointed out in the following pages.

Relation to Fertility of the Soil.—It is now conceded that the conservation of the fertility of the soil is the greatest problem of agriculture. There is some difference of opinion as to the possibility of maintaining fertility where grain crops are sold from the farm. It is certain that whether it be possible or not, it is seldom done. So far in our history grain selling has meant selling fertility that has been stored up in the past ages, and has been followed by impoverished soils and unprofitable agriculture. On the other hand, we find farms in almost every locality, and even entire countries can be pointed out where the fertility of the soil has been vastly increased by live-stock farming. The most marked examples of this are in connection with dairy farming. The following table gives the fertilizing constituents of common feed stuffs and of dairy products. The value is calculated on the basis of nitrogen at 20 cents per pound, and phosphoric acid and potash at 6 cents per pound, which values are in use at present by chemists connected with the inspection of commercial fertilizers.

FERTILIZING CONSTITUENTS AND VALUE AS FERTILIZERS IN 100 POUNDS

2.56 on the basis of the fertility contained.

600.

3.50 per ton when applied to the land, depending upon the fertility of the soil. Under fairly good conditions at least 80 per cent of the fertilizing constituents of the manure may be returned to the soil.

But this does not tell all the story. The dairy farmer usually is a purchaser rather than a seller of grain, and by this means adds constantly to the fertility of his farm. The purchase of concentrated feeds rich in protein, as will be seen from the table, add a large amount of fertility to the farm. Furthermore, the keeping of dairy cattle usually means that a large proportion of the land is kept in grass, which makes it possible to prevent washing of the soil, which is responsible for the rapid deterioration of many farms.

It is a well-known fact that the yield of grain per acre of the agricultural lands of Denmark, Germany, and parts of England where dairy farming has been followed for a period of years has been materially increased. The Hosmer farm at Marshfield, Mo., for the past five years has yielded an average of 70 bushels of corn per acre on land that produced 15 bushels per acre 17 years ago, when the present owner established it as a dairy farm.

Adaptation of Dairying to High-Priced Land.—As a rule a thinly settled region is not a dairy country. When land becomes high in price and it is necessary to secure a correspondingly larger income, the dairy cow usually comes into use. Exceptions to this are level rich lands that may be used for grain growing for long periods without exhausting the available fertility. Dairy husbandry is intensive farming, and a comparatively small area is sufficient to carry on such a system of farming. An example of what is possible along this line is a farm in Pennsylvania625 per year.

2000 per acre, is used almost exclusively for dairy purposes. The same is true of most of the high-priced land in other parts of Europe.

The Cow a Cheap Producer of Human Food.—Henry says:² Not only is dairying the leading animal industry of our country at the present time, but so it must continue indefinitely, for the reason that the cow is a more economical producer of human food than is the ox or pig. The following table from data gathered by the Missouri Experiment Station illustrates this fact forcibly. The comparison is made of the milk produced by a Holstein cow in one year and the composition of the carcass of a fat steer weighing 1250 pounds.

The total amount of dry matter in the milk was 2218 pounds, all of which is edible and digestible. The steer, with a live weight of 1250 pounds, contained 56 per cent of water in the carcass, leaving a total of 548 pounds of dry matter. In this dry matter of the steer is included hair and hide, bones and tendons, organs of digestion and respiration; in fact, the entire animal, a considerable portion of which is not edible. The analysis of the steer’s carcass was made from samples taken after grinding up together one half of the complete carcass.

The cow produced proteids sufficient for more than three steers; nearly fat enough for two, ash enough to build the skeleton for three, and in addition produced 920 pounds of milk sugar, worth as much per pound for food as ordinary sugar.

In the above comparison the cow was far above the ordinary, and for this reason the following additional data is given from the Missouri Experiment Station, representing the total constituents in the milk of several cows of ordinary dairy capacity:—

PRODUCTION FOR ONE YEAR

The above table shows that these ordinary cows all produced more protein in a year than was contained in the carcass of the 1250-pound steer. Three of them also produced more fat. The solids of all except two contained more ash than was found in the carcass of the steer. In addition the cows produced from 290 to 437 pounds of sugar each. The seven cows, representing three breeds, in one year averaged 970 pounds of total solids each, or nearly as much as was contained in the carcass of two steers.

A comparison of the feed consumed by the steer and the cows would be still more striking, since the steer required nearly two years of liberal feeding to build this carcass while the product from the cows was made in less than one year.

Constant Returns.—One of the advantages of dairy farming that appeals to the farmer with limited capital is the certainty of the returns. There is little of the element of speculation in this line of farming. The returns are not large at any one time, but steady throughout the year, and may be depended upon. The market price of dairy products varies on the whole less than almost any other class of farm products, making it safe for the farmer of small capital as well as for the larger.

The Labor Question.—The problem of securing sufficient and satisfactory labor is generally counted the greatest difficulty experienced in conducting a dairy farm. This difficulty arises from the necessity of treating the cow carefully at all times, and especially from the fact that the work becomes some-what monotonous from having to be done regularly every day. While the labor problem is a serious one, it is no worse than experienced in conducting almost any other line of farming, and in fact under proper conditions may be less. The grain farmer crowds his work into a few months and requires a large amount of help for a few days or weeks only, and finds it almost impossible to secure, since he has no work to offer the remainder of the year. Work on the dairy farm is distributed throughout the year, and arrangements may be made accordingly. The special objections raised to the labor on the dairy farm are the long hours, the steady, regular work, and the nature of the work. To reduce the labor problem to the minimum, first of all the hours must be made as reasonable as in any other kind of farming. Provision should also be made for regular time off by each laborer in turn. The objections made to the nature of the work comes almost entirely from the conditions under which the work is done, and that may be removed. If the cows are milked in a clean, well-lighted, comfortable stable at reasonable hours, and modern methods of handling the manure and feed by overhead carriers are installed, the objections to the work will mostly disappear. In most localities by furnishing a comfortable house, a man with a family may be employed by the year with the best satisfaction to the employer.

¹ Benno Martiny, Kirne und Girbe.

¹ Farmers’ Bulletin No. 242, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

² Feeds and Feeding, p. 401.

CHAPTER II

ORIGIN OF DOMESTICATED CATTLE

CLASSIFICATION OF BREEDS

Origin of Domesticated Cattle.—There are no cattle native to America. All those found in North and South America are descended from animals brought from Europe. The domesticated cattle of Europe are descended from wild forms that formerly lived in Europe and Asia. Where and by whom cattle were first domesticated is unknown, as it took place in prehistoric times. Within recent years considerable light has been thrown on the subject by extensive investigations which have been made regarding the early types of cattle and their relationship to the domesticated breeds of the present.

This study has been carried on largely by comparing the skeletons of different breeds and types of cattle from all over the world. Other sources contributing to the knowledge of this subject have been extensive studies of bones found in ancient human dwelling places, as those of the Lake Dwellers of Switzerland. Ancient historical records and works of art which depict cattle have also been carefully examined by those studying this subject. The material that has been gathered is so fragmentary that even those who have given the subject most study do not agree on more than the general details. It is known from fossil remains that the ox existed in Europe before the glacial period, but it is uncertain whether the domestic cattle are descended from this form or from an Asiatic type. Among the most recent investigators on this subject is Kellar.¹

According to this author the investigations so far indicate that the cattle of Europe are descended from two original types or species. One is called Bos sondaicus, the other Bos primigenius. This author believes cattle were domesticated long before the records of history began, while the ancestors of the present Europeans still dwelt in Asia. The Bos sondaicus, which was the first type domesticated, is still represented in Asia by the Banteng or native wild ox, found in small numbers on certain islands of the East Indies. Similar forms are said to be also found in a state of domestication in the same countries.

FIG. 2.—Skull of Bos sondaicus (Keller), showing the broad head and short horns.

These cattle were taken to Europe during the great migrations that took place, and were spread over the greater part of that continent. Numerous remains of this type are found in the oldest ruins of the Lake Dwellers in Switzerland. These cattle at this time were small in size, short-bodied, and had small horns. From this type have descended most of our breeds in use to-day, as the Brown Swiss, Jersey, Guernsey, and all of the breeds of England except the Longhorn and Scotch Highland. However, part of the English breeds, especially the Shorthorn and Ayrshire, while having this type as a foundation were mixed in the early days of these breeds with the blood of the Bos primigenius type through crossing with Holland cattle.

FIG. 3.—Skull of Bos primigenius (Keller), showing the long, narrow head and long horns.

The Bos primigenius was an immense, powerful animal with tremendous horns. Historical records show this form existed in a wild state in Europe until the twelfth or thirteenth, and possibly the fourteenth century. This animal was apparently domesticated in Europe within historic times. From it are descended the cattle of Holland and other parts of North Europe, the large, long-horned cattle of Hungary and adjacent regions, the Fleckvieh or Spotted Cattle of Switzerland, and the Longhorns and Scotch Highland breeds in England.

The chief basis of classification is the skull, which is quite different in the two types. In the Holland or Holstein breed, for example, we have the long, narrow head, indicating descent from the Bos primigenius, while in the Channel Islands breeds we find the head broad and short, which is characteristic of those breeds descended from the Bos sondaicus.

Origin of Breeds.—Varieties or breeds of cattle came into existence first of all as a result of environment, such as climate, food, and the nature of the surroundings. In the early times, with no organized means of transportation, there naturally was little exchange of animals from one locality to another, and probably little, if any, attempt at improvement. The effects of natural conditions were allowed to work out almost undisturbed by the agency of man. Breeds formed by such means may be called natural breeds.

On the continent of Europe the breeds and sub-breeds are almost innumerable, and they are mostly breeds originated in the manner mentioned. In Great Britain alone ten or twelve distinct breeds have been originated. Up to about the middle of the eighteenth century these natural influences were the chief factors developing distinct breeds. About this time a great interest was aroused in England in regard to improving the quality of the cattle and other domestic animals of Great Britain. This exceedingly important movement, which was largely the result of the work of Robert Blakewell, spread more or less to other cattle-breeding countries. The beginning of modern improved breeds is to be traced to this great movement.

The methods used were careful selection of breeding animals, liberal feeding, and general good management. In most cases, as, for example, in improving the Shorthorns and Ayrshires, crossing and inbreeding was at first practiced. At the present time the efforts of cattle breeders are directed toward further improvement in the breeds already in existence, and not toward the establishment of new breeds, because it is generally recognized that selection may be made among those already established to suit any conditions under which cattle may be profitably kept.

Value of Breeds.—The breed is only one of many factors to be considered in carrying on profitable milk production. In some cases the value of the breed is overestimated, but more often the reverse is true. Our present dairy breeds represent the efforts toward improvement in certain definite lines made by several generations of breeders. It would be folly for a man to attempt to start at the beginning to build up for himself what it has taken a century or more to build by others. By making use of animals of a highly developed breed adapted to the purpose for which they are to be used, he is taking advantage of all the work that has been done, and is starting in at the highest point of advancement reached by other breeders.

On the Market.—Cows of a distinct dairy breed usually, and rightly, sell for more than the same number of cows of mixed or unimproved breeding, even if the latter are known to be equally good as dairy cows. The cows of a distinct dairy breed are worth more to the buyer, because he can reasonably expect these animals to show the typical character of the breed to which they belong in production of milk, in disposition, and in other breed characters. Further, he can reasonably expect that these cows, when mated with a male of the same line of breeding, will produce offspring having the same typical breed characters. A cow of mixed breeding, even if a good dairy cow, or an unusually good milker in a breed where milking qualities are not generally found, cannot be counted upon to reproduce herself in her offspring. It is a well-known fact in animal breeding that the longer a certain character has existed in a breed, the more certain it is to be transmitted.

Pure breeds have been bred generation after generation with certain objects in view, and in course of time these characters become fixed as breed characters, and are transmitted. It is easy to understand why the chances are good for getting a good dairy cow if the ancestors are Holstein, known to have been bred about 2000 years in one locality and noted for hundreds of years as great dairy animals, or if the parents are Jerseys bred for 500 years, or longer, along one line.

Classification of Cattle.—No system of classification has yet been devised that can be applied in more than a general way to the individuals that make up the great mass of cattle. If we undertake to arrange them by breeds, we find, in addition to the numerous pure breeds, animals with all possible mixtures of the blood of two or more breeds, or with more or less improved blood mixed with the scrub or unimproved. If we should attempt to arrange them according to the purpose for which they are adapted or kept, we would have a constant gradation from the extreme of beef to the extreme of dairy development.

It is even difficult to arrange a suitable classification of the pure breeds, since the animals may vary greatly within a breed due to environment and treatment. The following descriptive terms are in common use:—

Unimproved, Scrub, or Natives.—These terms generally indicate that the animal does not carry more than at least a small amount of the blood of any of the improved breeds. Typical scrubs are not numerous except in those sections where very little attention is given to cattle raising. The term scrub is often applied also to inferior animals of any breeding.

Cross-bred is a term used to indicate that the animal is the offspring of parents of distinct breeds, either high grades or pure bred.

Grade.—This term is generally used with a certain breed name, as Grade Jersey or Grade Shorthorn. This means that the animal in question has one half or usually more of the blood of the breed mentioned. When the proportion of the pure blood is large, the animal is called a high grade. The proportion of the blood predominating may be so great that for all practical purposes the animal is the same as a pure bred, but it cannot be called a pure bred no matter how many crosses have been made, and such animals cannot be registered in the various Herd Books.

Pure Bred.—The term thoroughbred is often improperly used instead of the proper term, pure bred. The term thoroughbred is properly applied only to the well-known English breed of horses. Pure-bred cattle, as understood in America, are those whose ancestors came from the native home of the breed in question and conformed to the requirements of this breed here. This blood must be kept pure and unmixed, and records must be available showing the descent from these ancestors. The records of descent of these animals are kept in a systematic manner by associations formed for the purpose by those interested.

The breeds of cattle common in America are usually classified as dairy, dual-purpose, and beef.

In addition to the above, small numbers of French-Canadian, Kerry, and Polled Jersey cattle, all to be classed as dairy breeds, are found in certain localities in America.

¹ Naturgeschichte der Haustiere.

CHAPTER III

THE DAIRY TYPE

THERE is but one entirely satisfactory way to select cows for dairy purposes, and that is by records of the production of each individual, made by the use of the scales and Babcock test. Since up to the present time individual milk and fat records have been kept for only a small proportion of the cows used for dairy purposes, the selection of individual cows on this basis is impossible in more than isolated cases. Most selection must be based upon conformation, or the degree to which the animal approaches what is known as the dairy form or type. The excessive development of the function of milk production through generations of selection and breeding in that direction has brought about certain characteristics in the conformation of the animal that may be taken into account in judging of the development of these functions.

The breeders of Jersey Island in 1834 formulated the first scale of points for dairy cattle. At the present time the breeders’ associations have prepared for each breed a carefully drawn scale of points that are of assistance in acquiring a skill in the selection of cows by conformation. A scale of points undertakes to describe the conformation of the animal that in the judgment of the author denotes the highest development of the characteristics sought. The comparative importance of the parts described is represented by points that total 100 for a perfect animal. The lack up to the present of a real scientific basis for preparing a scale of points makes them unsatisfactory in many ways, but of great general value, especially to the beginner.

The General Characteristics of the Dairy Type.—A person familiar with cattle in general, but not with highly developed dairy cattle, looking for the first time upon a high-class dairy cow in full flow of milk would have his attention especially directed to three points, as follows:—

1. The extreme angular form, carrying no surplus flesh, but showing evidence of liberal feeding in her vigorous physical condition.

2. The extraordinary development of the udder and milk veins.

3. The marked development of the barrel in proportion to the size of the animal.

These three statements should be kept in mind as describing the special characteristics of the dairy animal as compared with those bred for beef, or with inferior dairy animals. Sometimes the error is made of attributing this lack of flesh, so characteristic of a good dairy cow, to insufficient feeding. The dairy cow does not, however, have the same appearance as an animal not of the dairy type that is thin in flesh on account of insufficient feed. A high-class dairy cow never carries much flesh when in full flow of milk. The stimulation to produce milk is so strong that all the feed she can consume and digest is utilized in producing milk. Such an animal, although thin in flesh, has an alert, vigorous appearance, her hair is soft and healthy, the skin pliable and loose, her paunch is full, and a general appearance of thrift and contentment is noticeable. An animal thin in flesh on account of insufficient feed has a stupid appearance, and shows a lack of vigor, while the rough, long hair stands on end. The paunch may be large or not, depending upon the bulkiness of the feed consumed by the animal.

The Dairy Form.—So characteristic is this angular appearance of the dairy cow that an animal that does not show this form when in full flow of milk should not be selected. It should be understood that it is natural for a cow to fatten considerably towards the end of her milking period and when dry. This surplus fat is mostly taken from the body during the first three or four weeks after calving. It is impossible with any ration to fatten a high-class dairy cow during the best