Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1917-11-01

but the estimate of 80 per cent has
been made by many and probably is
not far wrong.
Take Exception to Raise on Milk.
1.-THE cost of buildings, machinery,
Irvine, fencing material, gasoline, and
| a multitude of other miscellanies, has
| increased from 80 to Is per cent. Gen
eral living expenses of the farmer, like
those of others, have amounted dur
ing the year some 45 per cent.
"a thoughtful person will see that
the increase of 371A per cent for milk
is a very modest one, being entirely
below the rate of increase for feed
and but little above that for labor, the
! two principal items in production cost.
Just why the fairness of the 6-cent
price should at present be so sharply
called in question, and so little be said
about other prices than those paid to
farmers is OF clear. Any considerable
| increase in milk prices seems to stir
up great deal of opposition, where
| as the increase in other prices is taken
mildly.
Hog Raisers Better Paid.
"The farmer like anyone else, is
likely to consider what else he can do
in case milk prices are relatively too
low, and at the present time he does
| not have far to seek for something
which will Immediately pay better. A
| farmer on a quarter section of land
will raise, let us say, 90 bushels Of
| corn, 1900 bushels of oats, and 40
tons of hay besides enough grain and
hay for horses. He will have in addi-
ton a pasture of perhaps 40 acres.
The above amounts may therefore be
| fed or sold. Should he sell them at
present prices he will receive above
can rent'the pasture for at least 1925,
making a total Of $2,S75.
"At the present price of hogs he
could feed his corn, sell the oats and
| hay, and buy more corn, and get out
Of his hogs and the rent of the pas
ture not less than $4,000.
eff the farmer is in the dairy bust
ness, we will suppose that he has a
herd of 20 COWS and 10 heifers He
can just about feed this number, and
! have 900 bushels Of oats left over for
sale. Should he be able to make the
cows give 5000 pounds of milk each,
he will get for it, at $2.75 hundred,
$780, plus $40 for the. oats, or
$3.50.
Dairying Increases Labor Cost.
"But it will cost him approximately
the labor of one more man for a year
to take care Of this, herd. At present
wages, including board that will cost
at least $780, 1t will cost for housing
the herd and providing miscellaneous
equipment, taxes and insurance around
Sc a head or $3.50 The work Of put
| ting the greater part of the corn into
silos, grinding say 800 bushels off corn
and GOO bushels of oats, will cost, in
addition to work needed in harvesting
as whole grain, about $3.50 The an
nual cost of a bull is about $50. These
additional costs amount to $3.50. A
herd of this sort may increase little
| in inventory value but normally not
! very much, say not more than 500,
leaving the net cost of running a dairy
at S1,17O, more than the cost of rails
ing grain to sell.
"Subtracting this from the gross re-
turns, $3.50, leaves $2,670, or $500
less than the value Of the hogs he
might feed, and S155 less than the in
come from selling the produce as
such.
Predicts Lessened Supply.
"Why then should the farmers not
change, even under present prices?
The chances are that he will to some
extent He will keep a few hogs, sell
little grain, and go easy in produc-
ing milk. Then, if the present cir
cumstances do not change, he will soon
be producing decidedly less milk, and
more of other things. One important
reason for staying in the dairy bust
ness is in order to keep up the fertil-
ity of the farm, but this the farmer
will not do at q great personal sacri-
fee.
|
near Madison is entitled to cents for
his milk is because it is worth that at
the condenSeries, and approximately
as much at cheese factories. While
this continues to be true, it is hardly
likely that many farmers will sell for
less
1.-The long and short of it is that
cents for milk hardly covers cost of
production. Should the price be held
below that for a time a lesSened
amount produced will result later in a
still higher price that will not be ac-
ceptable. The farmers are not asking
exorbitant prices. If they did they
couldn't get them, as they are too
numerous and too poorly organized"