FEEDING OF COWS.

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 291, 21 November 1936, Page 7 (Supplement)

FEEDING OF COWS.

Value of lodine. The one outstanding solution to the dairyman’s problem is more milk from fewer cows. That means culling out the low producers and feeding the good cows well-balanced diets, includessential minerals. In a word, he must make nine good cows produce what 10. ordinary cows did before. The j mineral requirements of a dairy cow are particularly high, inasmuch as a cow giving four gallons of milk a day secretes in the milk loz. of calcium (CaO) and 1 3-1 Ooz. of phosphorus (P 205 Either she must • get this supply of mineral from her feed and water supplies or else rob her own body of these minerals (says the “Jersey Bulletin.”) It is common knowledge that a cow may lose as much as 20 per cent, of the mineral matter of its skeleton during a single lactation period. This means that minerals may be constantly fed to stem this heavy drain. If assimilation or use of these minerals is largely dependent upon the secretion sot the thyroid gland, and these I nbfcaetions in turn are dependent upon nttcient iodine, one really realises the importance of feeding sufficient iodine in order to obtain high milk production, and at the same time reduce feeding costs. Monroe, at the Ohio State Experiment station, in his work with dairy cattle, found that the addition of a small amount of iodine to the rations of cows resulted in a 9 per cent, increase in ‘milk flow and a corresponding saving in feed costs.

, INTERESTING TESTS. Orr, of the Rowett Institute, Aberdeen, in commenting on the use of iodine for dairy cattle, writes: “In the case of milk cows, a German experiment station has reported increased milk yield of from 8 to 10 per cent, as a result of giving potassium iodide.” * In dairy tests conducted in Wisconsin over a period of two years, the average of 22 experiments showed a total increase of 4 per cent, of milk and 5.3 per cent, of butter-fat in favour of iodine feeding. The result of 45 experiments with one year records show’s an average of 4.7 per cent, more milk from iodinefed cows as compared with cows not fed on iodine.