The per cent of fat in milk as influenced by the fatness of the cow and the plane of nutrition

Abstract

The question of the fatness of the cow and plane of nutrition as effecting the per cent of fat in milk has been under investigation at the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station for a period of three years. An interest in the question arose for observations made on the fat content of milk at different stages in the period of lactation, and because of the abnormally high tests that were being obtained in seen day records with Holstein cows. The writer has been connected with this work during the past two years. Considerable data has been obtained and Bulletin 100 of the Missouri Experiment Station has recently been published giving a portion of this data. The scope of the work grows and new problems are confronted as the investigation proceeds. Many of these phases are only dealt with briefly in this paper. It is expected that the investigation will be continued along this line and the data published in full later by the Experiment Station.