EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 401 



In the Webberville territory, dairying had not developed to so great 

 an extent as in the Howell territory, but due to the good market condi- 

 tions and general adaptability of this district for the dairy business, it 

 is developing rapidly into a pronounced dairy section. The majority 

 of the cattle in this territory were grades, while in the Howell section 

 there was a large number of pure-breds. 



BASIS OF STUDY. 



In the collection of the data upon which this Bulletin is based, the 

 accountants followed the general plan of Bulletin No. 277 but modified 

 it in some particulars to comply with the outline approved by the Office 

 of Farm Management of the United States Department of Agriculture. 



The dairy cow is the unit basis of study. That is, no attempt is 

 made to take other livestock or any other farm enterprise into considera- 

 tion. Credit is given for the value of the calves as soon as the cows' 

 milk is fit for human consumption, aud all heifers, are charged into 

 the herd at their actual value as soon as they freshen. All the data 

 presented in this bulletin are given on an average cow basis for each 

 month, and are summarized into seasonal aud yearly totals. The 

 calendar month was used for convenience. 



METHOD OF OBTAINING DATA. 



Cost records were kept on twenty-five representative herds in each 

 territory. The average size of the herds was 1G.5 cows at Howell and 

 14. G cows at Webberville. These herds were large enough to study 

 with some degree of accuracy. 



The College employed a field accountant who spent one day out of 

 each calendar month throughout the year on every farm. He kept an 

 accurate record of the kind and amount of all t]ie feeds whicli were 

 fed, and of the time spent in performing the various operations in the 

 producing of milk. The montlily data were based on this daily record 

 with the exception of milk sold and incidental costs. He also took 

 into consideration all overhead costs such as investments, veterinary 

 services, deaths, and otlier miscellaneous costs as well as all receipts for 

 products. A record of the milk sold was secured each month from the 

 dealer. From this statement was obtained the price of the milk, the 

 total value, the cost of transportation from the farm to plant or station, 

 and the percent of butter fat. Incidental expenses were taken from 

 daily records kept by the farmer. These data were also checked up 

 with the day's record taken by the accountant. 



43 



