432 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



farmers' sons are flocking to the cities to accept employment in the 

 various factories and plants. Unless rural employers can in some meas- 

 ure successfully compete for the services of these men milk production 

 will certainly be decreased. 



Second: A second reason why the farmer may accept a very low 

 hourly wage and still continue to carry on his business is that he works 

 more hours per day than the standard laborer. Dairy cows could not 

 be properly milked by maintaining a single crew of men on an eight 

 hour schedule. The eight hour day can never come on the dairy farm. 

 The dairyman's actual working time comes much nearer to 12 hours 

 out of the 24 than it does to 10 hours. 



In justice to the dairy business it must be said that fully one-sixth 

 of the time spent in the dairy would be classed as over-time by the 

 city laborer. By this we mean that it is performed on holidays or 

 Sundays or very early in the morning or very late at night. 



Third: In presenting the third reason it must be borne in mind that 

 dairy farming and milk production is one of the most expensive types 

 of farming; that is, it demands a much larger investment than grain 

 or crop farming. A person without considerable capital may not under- 

 take dairy production except as a tenant. Necessary land, buildings, 

 cattle and special equipment compel the dairy farmer to have a com- 

 paratively large capital before he can enter upon the business of milk 

 production. 



If, as is often the case, the dairy farmer accepts less than the legal 

 rate of interest on his investment or as is sometimes the case he re- 

 ceives no annual interest on his investments in land, cattle, buildings, 

 and equipment, he may still continue the business. 



It is self-evident, however, that dairy production must return a rea- 

 sonable annual interest on the capital invested if it is to be a permanent 

 agricultural enterprise. 



Fourth : Many farmers continue to stay in the business by "mining" 

 their farms. Cropping from year to year without adding an equal 

 amount of fertilizer means that the operator is selling his farm by 

 degrees and in time its actual value for dairy production is greatly 

 lowered. In this same manner farmers stay in the business by wearing 

 out their buildings and equipment and never replacing them. 



Fifth: It must be conceded that there is some additional income 

 besides the regular receipts from the dairy. While this is not large 

 on the specialized dairy farm, it sometimes helps the farmer to break 

 even or at least saves him from excessive loss. 



