Bulletin 142, Dairying in Florida


absolutely essential for farmers at the present time to increase
the production per cow; for with even the best of management
the majority of dairy cows in the State are not profitable.
 COW TESTING ASSOCIATIONS
 Nothing will furnish a greater incentive to increase the pro-
duction of dairy cows than a state, county or community cow
testing association. Following the organization of such asso-
ciations, dairying is put on a business basis. So long as 1he dairy
business is conducted in a haphazard sort of way it will be a
gamble. Few dairymen in the State keep individual production
records, and there is much of speculation in their operations.
 With cow testing associations in operation the dairyman
would know the producing ability of every cow in his herd; all
would be on an equal footing. The poor producers would be
eliminated for the reason that they take time, labor, feed and
care which the busy dairyman cannot afford to give them.
Keeping individual records enables the dairyman to cull out the
unprofitable cows. It also indicates the high-producers from
which the calves should be saved to build up the herd.
 Keeping a record of the feed consumed and the milk produced
 by each individual in the herd is simply putting dairying on a
 business basis, which is the only way to conduct any business
 economically.
 SOME DAIRY POINTERS
 1. The individual cow is the foundation of dairying.
 2. The dairy is a factory, and like all factories, the larger the
 production of each machine (the individual cow) the lower is
 the cost of production.
 3. Only by keeping- records of production can the value of
 individual cows be known.
 4. The feeding of scrub cows and the "scrub" feeding of good
 cows are two of the commonest mistakes in dairying.
 5. Save all heifer calves from the best producing cows in the
 herd to replace the unprofitable cows.
 6. Use a good sire. Without a good sire improvement in the
 herd is impossible.
 7. Get rid of the unprofitable cows in the dairy. The milk
 scales and Babcock test will point them out.
 8. Proof that kindness and regularity in milking and feeding
 is appreciated by the dairy cow will be shown in the larger- flow
 of milk.