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Fortieth Annual Report of the
ation grew so large that a division was made necessary. At present,
two divisions are in operation with a tester in charge of each and a
total of over 800 cows under test.
To give at this time the benefits which the farmers have derived
from the work of the testing and the association as a whole is difficult.
However, it can be said that the association has had its good
influences since its first organization in 1908. Of the 26 farmers in
the older division, 25 of the number have silos, and 5 have pure bred
herds. Furthermore, practically all of the members in this older di-
vision have registered sires to head their herds.
WHY A FARMER SHOULD HAVE HIS COWS TESTED.
By WALTER DOMIBAK, WAUPUN, WIS.
A good many of the farmers have some cows in their herds that are
not paying for themselves. Therefore, if he had them tested he could
tell whether or not they are a profit or a loss to him. And another
thing, if he has his cows tested, he knows what each cow tests, and
can then raise the heifer calves from the cows that are profitable. In
this way he can also grade up his herd, because generally if the dam
is a good tester, her calf will be a high tester.
Many of the farmers are feeding their cows a great deal more than
they really want to feed them. I have had some farmers guess at the
weight of the feed fed to one cow, and they would guess 6 or 7 pounds,
when it would weigh 10 pounds. In this way if the farmers would
have their cows tested, I think they would get a better knowledge
of what they were feeding.
By having their cows tested, they get the cow's average test, number
pounds of milk she will produce in one year, number pounds of butter
fat, value of her butter fat, number pounds of feed fed per day and year,
and value of it. By doing this, a farmer can find out what cows he is
feeding at a loss, and at a profit and how much. I know of some
farmers that will milk later at night and later in the morning on the
day the tester is there, so as to get more milk so the average pounds
of milk will be more for the month, just in order to have a good
showing in the book.
But if a farmer does this, the test is no good whatever, because he
don't get the right number pounds of milk of the right test, and
if he does this wouldn't know any more about what his cows were
o0ng, tha& be would it he didn't hove the teat, I have fpup4 that S
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