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Streeter, John Williams

"The Fat of the Land The Story of an American Farm"

They are young, too; and if you'll dehorn them, I believe they'll
make your thoroughbreds hump themselves to keep up with them at the milk
pail. You see, these cows never had more than half a chance to show
what they could do. They have never been 'fed for milk.' Farmers don't
do that much. They think that if a cow doesn't bawl for food or drink
she has enough. I suppose she has enough to keep her from starving, and
perhaps enough to hold her in fair condition, but not enough to do this
and fill the milk pail, too. I read somewhere about a ration for
'maintenance' and one for 'product,' and there was a deal of difference.
Most farmers don't pay much attention to these things, and I guess
that's one reason why they don't get on faster."
"You've got the whole matter down fine in that 'ration for product,'
Thompson, and that's what we want on this farm. A ration that will
simply keep a cow or a hen in good health leaves no margin for profit.
Cows and hens are machines, and we must treat them as such. Crowd in the
raw material, and you may look for large results in finished product.


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