The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1917-03-30
THE COST OF MILK
feed Accounts for 0ne-HaIf or more of
Cost of Production, According to
Department Specialists

/
ducing milk on four farms, recently
conducted by the United States De-
partment Of Agriculture, leads to the
conclusions that on those farms feed
accounts for one-half or more OF the
total cost, the remaining charges be-
ing divided about equally between
labor and other items, such as shelter,
use of equipment, use Of bull, interest,
depreciation, and overhead. The con-
clusions are based upon an exhaustive
analysis Of the business Of the four
farms, each of which is representative
of type Of dairying. While the
actual costs on the farms, as elsewhere,
vary from year to year, the ratio be-
tween each item and the total re-
NAMED nearly uniform when the same
system of management was followed.
It is believed, therefore, that milk pro-
ducers throughout the country will find
valuable suggestions in the report OF
this study, just published as Bulletin
sol of the Department Of Agriculture,
and entitled The Cost OF Producing
Milk on Four Dairy Farms Located in
Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania,
and North Carolina" by Morton o.
Cooper and c. M. Bennett.
The fact that the cost of feed is
shown TO be at least one-half Of the
total cost Of producing milk on the
farms is cited as evidence that the
feed item is OF great importance to the
dairyman who seeks to reduce the cost
of production. It is pointed out, how
ever, that the greatest economy OF pro-
duction is not always attained by
cutting down the feed cost, and that
sometimes it is necessary to increase
the feed bills in order tosincrease profits.
The question Of feed supply is held
to be one for individual solution.
"Just how near the specialized dairy
man should come to growing all the
feed required by his dairy herd is a
question Of individual business man
agement. One man may find it more
profitable to grow all the food required,
while another may increase his profits
by supplementing the income from
COWS with crop sales and purchase part
of the feed. In few localities in the
United States crops may be selected
that will not only yield product for
which there is ready sale at good
prices uu; which also leave on the
farm much feedable material. Sweet
corn is an example OF this type"
1t is pointed out that when this
practice Of supplementing the dairy
business with the production OF cash
crops is feasible, it is often good busi-
ness for the dairyman to sell crops and
buy concentrates. and that If by the
growing Of cash crop, it is possible
from the net receipts of ! acre to buy
a quantity of concentrates equivalent
to that which could be raised on ! "a
or Q acres, it would be folly to grow
the concentrates" s."
In a discussion OF the dairy labor
problem, special attention is directed
to system Of winter dairying practiced
on one OF the four farms, where
profitable employment for labor was
offered at a season when otherwise
there would be little TO do and yet
summer work on crops was not inter
rupted.
OF particular interest to the dairy
man who is considering the question Of
building up his herd is the fact that
though it was found to cost more to
keep the COW that gives high yield
than one that gives low yield, the
unit cost Of the milk produced fell in
all cases as the production per COW rose.
OF perhaps greater interest to the
average dairyman, however, is the
further fact that decrease in the cost
Of milk per pound was much greater in
the step from the poor COW to the COW
Of fair quality than in the step from the
fairly efficient COW to the good COW or
the exceptional cow" This fact is
cited as evidence that the first step in
building up poor dairy herd Chat is,
replacing scrubs with grades) is not
merely the easiest step, but also the
one which promises the most for q
given expenditure Of money and labor. "