DON'T KEEP UNPROFITABLE COWS.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 6, Issue 275, 15 May 1917, Page 4

DON'T KEEP UNPROFITABLE COWS.

It is'not always economical to save money; true economy consists in spending wisely and well, just as much as in saving. Because a cow gives milk is not a sufficient reason for keeping the animal. Although it may have been bought cheap, it may prove to have been an expensive deal. The man who wants to make money out of dairying cannot afford to keep poor cows, although a rich man may do so if he wishes.

Sometimes it is said that a man, unless he is well off, cannot afford to own good cows. This is wrong. If he can afford to own any he can afford to own the best. The man who refuses to spend the money necessary to purchase a good cow, and finds enough to get hold of a second-rate one, must work double time to get any profit, and wait years before he can breed up to a higher standard. The fact should be realised at the beginning that it is better to put all the money in half a dozen good cows than in a dozen inferior ones.

The profits of dairying depend, firstly, upon the quality of the cows; and second, upon the system of growing feed and giving it to the animals. It has been proved that good, not fancy bred, cows have made £l4 profit per year net for their owners, after the cost of feed had been deducted and all other charges. If one good cow will make that profit, a herd of ten or twenty should net a fairly good income. This can be done in almost any region where good methods of farming and dairying are observed. More can be accomplished, but this is enough to show that some dairies can and are doing. It matters not so much what kind of breed, so long as the animals are adapted to dairying, and are real representatives of their breed. Each animal must be judged on its individual merits, and if not up to the standard it should be discarded. Price does not always measure the value of a profitable cow. Sometimes high prices are tacked on for certain structural forms and breed characteristics which would not be of any use to the ordinary dairy farmer. Cows that net £7 or £8 each per annum are only paying for their keep, and all that goes to the owner is the privilege of looking after them. —" N.Z. Dairyman."