EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 4I3 



TAXES, INTBREST_, AND DEPRECIATION ON EQUIPMENT. 



As previously stated (page 404), equipment covers milkiug machines, 

 gas engines, separators, cans, pails, coolers, shovels, forks, carts, etc. 

 These items were inventoried at |13.77 per cow at Howell and at 110.94 

 at Webberville. Thirty-four farms out of the fifty studied had milking 

 machines, thus increasing the cost of equipment materially. On invest- 

 ments of this sort, 18.67© was charged at Howell, making a total cost of 

 12.56 per cow for the year. At Webberville 18% was charged on the 

 investment, which amounted to |3.05 per cow per year. 



VETERINARY SERVICES AND DRUGS. 



This item of expense amounts to an average of |1.02 at Howell and 

 10.35 at Webberville per cow per year. 



SIRE COSTS. 



The work done in keeping the records of sire costs was not sufficient 

 to warrant the use of any data of this sort in this Bulletin. The same 

 method was, therefore, used as was given in Bulletin No. 277 of this 

 Station, that is, sire costs were offset by calves at birth or at the age 

 when their dams' milk is good for human consumption. All sires used 

 at Howell were pure-bred Holsteins, and at Webberville pure-bred 

 Holstein sires predominated. 



MISCELLANEOUS COSTS. 



These costs cover a large number of minor items which are discussed 

 on ])aine 404. At Howell the miscellaneous costs amounted to f2.64 per 

 cow in 1916-17 and |3.66 in 1918-19, and at Webberville the average cost 

 was 12.31 per cow in 1916-17 and $3.14 in 1917-18. 



MANAGERIAL ABILITY AND RISKS. 



Article 8 (page 404) gives a full description of this item, which is 

 charged at 10% of all the total costs entering into milk production and 

 amounting to an average of |17.87 at Howell and |13.19 at Webberville 

 per cow per year. It has been figured that where herds are of sufficiently 

 large size to employ a manager to devote his full time to the dairy, it 

 would take the entire amount of this managerial charge to pay him 

 for his services above the cost of common labor. 



Tables VIII and IX give a general summary of all costs for each 

 month as well as for the winter and summer seasons and for the yearly 

 total. During the three years studied at Howell, there was a rapid 

 increase in cost due to the war conditions. In 1916-17, which might 

 be called the pre-war period, the costs per cow were $154.82, while 

 during the following two years the costs per cow were |193.73 and 

 1241.34 respectively, thus increasing the costs of the last year over the 

 costs of the first year an amount equaling |86.52. The cost of feeds 

 increased 78.4%, labor 42.1%, and the other costs 33.2% or a total in- 

 crease of 55.9%. 



