Norwich bulletin., 1917-07-26
DAIRY SURVEY COMPLETED.
Average Price of Producing Milk On
 Connecticut Farms.

The average cost of producing milk on 179 Connecticut farms during the year beginning May 1, 1916 was 5.53 cents per quart. The average priSa received per quart by these farmers was 4.37 cents.- These facts are the result of a careful survey of repre- sentative farms of the state made by the Dairy Department of the Con necticut Agricultural College on rep resentative farms of the state These eight counties of the state, thirteen farms being surveyed in the county where the fewest number of records were taken and thirty five in the county where the largest number of records were obtained.
 It was found that the average cost Der year of keeping a cow on these farms S177.48. Substra cting a credit of S22.91 for returns except milk leaves the cost of the years milk pro- auction at s154.57.
 This cost included feed, bedding, labor, use of buildings and equipment interest on investment. bull service and depreciation. Nothing was all aging the business.
 The report shows that the average production for these farms to be 6,009 pounds of milk per COW.
 In regard to the present status of the dairy business the report reads as follows: There are many hypotheses possible in the study of these figures but the single fact remaining is that dairying on these farms the past year has been an unsound business propo- sitiOn
 Tt is obviously true that this con dition will not markedly deplete our dairy farms in three, six. C. possibly many months, but it is positively cer- tain that such conditions will event ually undermine the farming business as whole if dairying is continued; following as 1t does a series of years of close margins" "The practical man eventually changes his type of farm ing, and rapidly, when the loss in one line of the industry pictures bank ruptcy to him.
 Figures were also taken on these farms for the month of April, 1917 The report shows that the cost of producing milk during this month was 6.24 cents per quart. This milk was sold for an average of 5.66 cents per quart It will be noted that these fig ures show an increased cost for April over the cost for the twelve months in which April was included, of 1878 per cent.
 At the time the dairy survey was begun. 9 dairy cens:s was taken to determine if possible whether or not the number of cows in the state is increasing or decreasing.
 Three thousand cards were mailed 10 the dairymen of the state asking
 
 1. How many cows of milking age did you have in your herd May 1. 1916. How many heifers over S months of age did you have in your herd May 1, 1916.
 2. How many cows, as above, in your herd May i, 1917
 3. How many heifers as above did you have May 1, 1917.
 4. Tn your opinion are there more or less cows in your neighborhood this year than 1aSf7
 Over 1.412 replies were obtained from dairymen in answer to these cards. A total of 19,e91 dairy cattle were on these farms May 1, 1918, while 19,753 were owned there May j, 1917. These figures show a decrease of 1-19 per cent in dairy cattle in the state during the past year. Of the dairy cattle in the state May I, 1916. TOT per cent. were of milking age while May 1, 1917 the per cent. of milking animals was 6S.3
 Computation of the number of cows in milk in the state showed a decrease of 4.5 per. cent. for the year. The figures showed an increase of 69 per cent. heifers over six months of age but not yet in milk