Proceedings of Seventeenth Xormal Institute 163 



This is a superficial and erroneous view. Cost accounting is an 

 analysis of the business. Such facts as quantity of feed used, its 

 relation to the product, and time spent in comparison with other 

 farms, are more important than a mere knowledge of profit and 

 loss. For example, on one farm I found a loss of $50 per cow. 

 The facts were analyzed and compared with other farms. It ap- 

 peared that the man was raising grade calves on milk that was 

 too valuable for any but pure-bred stock. His herd was small, 

 hence the labor item was high. The more prominent facts showed 

 that if he increased his herd, and either raised no calves or pure^ 

 bred ones, he might expect a profit. The herd is now on a paying 

 basis. The wrong and superficial advice would have been to stop 

 keeping cows. The correct advice was to keep more of them. For 

 every case where one would be wis© in dropping a product that 

 does not pay there are many cases where he should continue to 

 produce it, but give his attention to those things that will make 

 it pay. 



If one finds that a certain product is paying well it should be 

 studied just as carefully as one that does not pay, because it may 

 bo possible to make it pay better. 



If an account indicates that a crop or animal does not quite 

 pay, and if there seems to be no possible way of making it do bet- 

 ter, it may still be grown if it comes at a time when there is not 

 other work to do. 



A survey of the costs of producing milk in various regions are 

 given in tables I, II and III. Little comment on these is necessarv 

 except to remember that the other items than dollars are the ones 

 that deserve the most study. Notice that in as widely different 

 conditions as the intensive dairy region of Delaware County, New 

 York, and the dairy farms of Minnesota where Shorthorn cattle 

 are much used, the costs other than feed are not strikingly 

 different. 



Also compare the pure-bred and grade herds in New York. 

 Notice that every item of cost is higher for the pure-bred herds. 

 If a farmer has a single pure-bred cow in a herd he may give her 

 the same care as he gives the grades. But even then he is likely 

 to give her a little more grain, and he will certainly spend more 



