Daily Yellowstone journal., 1890-02-28
COST OF PRODUCING MILK.
A Dsiryman's Startling Figures for the
Consumer To Ponder On.

published concerning the cost Of pro
ducing milk, and now that the fight
OF the dairyman for self preservation
has begun, il is time TO show the pub
lie precisely how matters stand on the
farm. Few farmers keep accounts.
As Nathan w. Howell, Of Blooming
Grove, Orange county, says, the ma
jority of farmers know how much
money they've got and how much
they owe. and that's about all they
can tell you at the end Of the year.
Inquiry among half "A score of good
men in this neighborhood failed to find
n who could produce a book to show
his gains and losses for the year, but all
united in expressing the belief that
Oscar w. Mapes had everything down
i'm black and white. Mr.. Mapes lives
about four miles from this place OH "a
farm which enables him TO keep body
and soul together, and, with the help
of his wife aud two nearly grown
sons, to support a family consisting of
a wife and three sons. the youngest
boy being just old enough TO mind a
calf. The writer called on MIR. Mapes
recently and had a talk with him.
The farm consists OF seventy acres of
good Orange county land, and the
dairy consists of fifteen cows.
''What are your cows WORTH Mr..
Mapes was asked.
Il should say about $40 apiece, he
replied ..
What is the average annual yield
of milkl"
For a COW past 4 years old, 5000
quarts"
What does il cost you to feed a
COW a yearG"
Just for the feed alone il costs me
$40 if the COW is dry in summer. SIS il
she's dry in winter"
''How many months in the year are
your cows in milkg"
ION an average. ten months"
''In estimating the cost of keeping a
COW, what price do you allow for hay
and grainf"
''For hay $40 a ton, for grain, SIS a
ton"
what kind of grain do you user
II feed a mixture of wheat bran,
dried brewers grains, dried glucose
meal and hominy meal, equal parts by
weight, giving each COW thirteen
pounds a day-six and one half pounds
in the morning, six and one-half at
night. That's for the winter. In the
summer they get half hat much.
They get pasturage about five months
in the year. worth at the market price
81 so a month"
Nov, Mr.. Mapes, we'll do a little
figuring. The average monthly price
of milk in 1889 was Q S. 100 cents.
The yield OF one Of your cows at that
price would bring in S77.40. Now for
the outgo. The cows feed cost you
S46.5 so. You had to hire some one 10
look after her, milk her, and get her
milk to the station. What did that
cost your"
"Well, one man a look after
twenty cows, and you have to pay
him $50 a month. He must have
somebody help him milk, say three
hours a day. That would DO 81 q
month more, making $50. EST
mate that for seven months in the
year. For the other five months make
it $22 q month, as the wages of the first
man during that time would be only
SIS"
THAT makes $685. year for labor
divide it by twenty to get the cosi
OF tending TO one cow"
Just SlS.35 a cow"
"All right. That's what | make il.
Now, as TO getting the milk TO the sta,
ton. | calculate that ii costs me just
1896 a COW. and for drawing the feed
from the station 10 the barn. why,
that's So more for each cow
Then there are the cans"
.'Oh, yes. Cans cost So apiece, and
you've got TO have at least one can Il
the COW. You'd get along better with
q can ard a hall, which makes 81. 81
70 the COW. A a lasts four or fiy,
years. so call the expense 81 a year"
Then there's the interest on the
cost Of the cow"
eyes. At G per cent. that would b
Gao"
And what OF the depreciation Of
the cowl You must be buying new
cows all the time and selling the ole
ones that are worn out"
Certainly. Iestimate that at abou'
"a a year"
you lose a part of each cows yielt
by bad debts. How much is thata"
~ lose very little, because I am very
careful whom / sell To. In the las
eighteen years I've lost only $50 in
that way
well, all the expenses foot up ex
actly SIS"
Take that from the money the mill
BRING OF the market price and you'll
have the amount that l cleared OF
each OF my cows last year"
Cant do il. Mr.. Mapcs. The mill
fetched only s77.40. which makes yo,
out a loser TO the extent Of sixty cent
on each COW, or 50 on the herd.
don't sec how your dairy a pay yo'
at those figures. But. hold ON. Mr.
Mapes, what about the calvesl Docsn'
each COW drop a calf every yearf"
''Of course. | thought there wa
something left out. / sell the calf 70
81. That makes the difference"
eyes. That makes each COW ear