332 Annual Report Agricultur.\l Experiment Station 



Table XVII shows the cost of the feed fed, the cost of the feed 

 per gallon of milk and per pound of butter fat, the value of the milk 

 produced from each ration during the test if figured at 30 cents per 

 gallon, and the profit over cost of feed. 



TABLE XVII. — COST OF PRODUCTION AND PROFIT OVER COST OF FEED 



To compute the costs of production the prices of the feeds were 

 fixed as follows : alfalfa hay, $25.00 per ton ; silage, $9.00 per ton, 

 and cold pressed cottonseed cake, $60.00 per ton. These are be- 

 lieved to be about an average of the prevailing market prices during 

 the past year. The cows were fed most cheaply on Ration 2 while 

 Ration 3 was most expensive. The cost of milk per gallon was 12.9 

 cents on Ration 1, 12.2 cents on Ration 2, and 13.6 cents on Ration 3. 

 The cost per pound of butter fat was less on Ration 2 than on 

 either of the other rations. When milk was figured at 30 cents per 

 gallon, the profit over cost of feed was $18.87 more for Ration 2 

 than for Ration 1, and $27.80 more than for Ration 3. The profit 

 over cost of feed per day per cow was as follows. Ration 1 — 50.3 

 cents. Ration 2 — 56 cents. Ration 3 — 47 cents. 



The results of this experiment are unusual, since the best bal- 

 anced ration gave the poorest returns while the most unbalanced 

 ration made the largest and most profitable production. Consider- 

 ing the fact that Ration 2, containing 22 pounds of alfalfa hay and 

 4 pounds of cottonseed cake gave a much better result than Ration 

 3, consisting of 11 pounds of alfalfa hay, 40 pounds of silage, and 

 3 pounds of cottonseed cake, it would seem that the larger propor- 

 tion of hay was more responsible for the increased and more 

 economical production than was the cottonseed cake. This experi- 



