Winter feeding of stock in Canterbury: factors in dairy cow production

Abstract

The winter feeding of stock is often discussed as though it were of itself the most self-contained aspect of stock production. Many farmers feed their stock poorly in winter and get profitable returns, while others, who feed better in winter, get poorer returns. A consideration of these and allied facts, makes it evident that winter feed must be considered, not only by itself, but also in relation to the kind and quality of feeding and the returns therefrom during the whole year. The annual returns of butter-fat have often been quoted on a per cow, per acre, or production cost per pound basis. Those calculations express the effects of high and low production, but they are little informative as to causes. A more informative line of approach which displays both cause and effect is through the lactation curve.