St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1915-09-15

practical farmers of this section of
The cost of producing dairy prod
ucts should be of great interest to
every farmer and dairyman in the
state, and likewise to every consumer
of dairy products. Enormous Quanti-
ties of milk, cream, butter and
cheese are used as food in this and
in all other countries, dairy products
ranking with -four as the most staple
articles sold on the market for hu-
man consumption. Yet in spite of
the importance of the industry, until
recently very little attention has
been attached to the cost of produc-
ton During the last few years, the
Bureau of Animal Industry at Wash
ington and several of the State Ex-
pertinent Stations have been investi-
| eating the problem, and have pub
lished bulletins containing much in
teresting and valuable data The re-
suits obtained, however, cannot be
applied to Vermont farms, since the
soil, climatic and labor conditions in
this state differ widely from those
under which results have been Sc
cured.
In June, 1911, the Minnesota Ag-
ricultural Experiment Station issued
bulletin on '"The Cost of Minnesota
Dairy Products. The data for this
publication was obtained from about
! twenty-three farms in three different
communities in the state. The rec
ords covered a period of five years
from 1904 to 1909, and are accurate
in details; but to take the results as
typical of New England is obviously
unfair.
| The Storrs (Connecticut) Agricul-
turaI Experiment Station, in 1912,
published bulletin giving complete
records of the cost of producing milk
and butter-fat in the Station herd
during a period of five years. 1t was
! found that selling milk for four cents
per quart at the dairy house result
ed in a net loss every year: butter at
thirty cents per pound also gave a
net loss. 1t required sixty-five dol
lars above the cost of feed to main
tain each COW for one year. These
figures are not representative of the
| average New England farm, owing to
the high valuation of the cows-at
the Storrs Station amount of Ia
Dor employed, and the excessive
value placed upon the food consumed.
During the last few years, there
|
part of the consumer, due to the in
creased price of all farm products:
on the other hand, the producer
feels that he cannot afford to sell
these products at the prices which
| the consumer is willing to pay. The
INCREASE in price has been due mainly
to the operation of the law of sup
ply and demand. The rapid growth
of cities and manufacturing indus
tries during the last twenty years has
created a demand for dairy products,
which has been SO great that the
wheat growing and meat producing
industries have been forced from the
central states to the great stretches
of virgin land in the northwest
Dairy farming has moved westward
and now occupies the areas which
were once devoted to grazing and
later to grain. Land values have
increased, and likewise the cost of
feed and labor Over-production Of
gold has also played an important
part in bringing about the high cost
of living When the supply Of gold
on the market increases, it's value is
lessened and the purchasing power of
dollar is thereby diminished.
While the reasons for the higher
price of farm products are evident,
these prices increased in proportion
to the increased cost of production?
The farm papers have taken up the
matter, defending the farmer and at
lacking the middleman and con-
sumner, while, on the other hand, the
city newspapers have favored the
consumer, claiming that the farmers
keep unproductive herds, are care
less and wasteful in their methods, |
and otherwise unfit to carry on the |
important task of providing food for
the nation. Owing to politics, par
tisanship and the meager data Sc
cured by these opposing factions, |
their statements are conflicting and /
unreliable.
Furthermore, the farmer himself |
does not know how much it costs him
to produce his products. Economic |
conditions have been such that the |
average farmer has been able to make |
a living and a small margin of |
profit by raising hay and corn to |
feed his COWS, buying some grain to |
complete the ration, and selling cash |
crops as potatoes, fruit, beans, lum- |
Der, etc. He has not realized the i'm |
portance of keeping accurate &C
counts with each crop, with the cows, !
horses, poultry, etc.; and for this |
reason he does not know whether he |
makes a profit on the hay and corn
which he raises, on the COWS which |
consume it, or on the cash crops I
which he sells. Some farmers say !
that they feel satisfied if they obtain !
market prices for the crops fed on
the farm. In other words, they con-
slider the cow a machine which con-
verts hay, silage and grain, contain
ing a relatively large amount of fer
tility, into milk, cream, butter and
cheese, which are more readily sal
able and at the same time contain
a much smaller per cent. of fertiliz-
ing elements. By returning the fer
tility thus saved to the soil in the