19171 DAIRY FARMING DAIRYING. 873 



nitrogen from their bodies tlie cows were able to sustain the milk flow at a 

 high level. However, the milk solids declined from 12 per cent at the begin- 

 ning to about 10 per cent at the end of the test. 



Straw for growing dairy heifers, F. B. Mokbison, A. C. Oosterhuis, and 

 G. BoHSTEDT (Wisconsin Sta. Bui. 275 (1917), pp. 12, 13). — In an experiment 

 lasting 98 days with dairy heifers, 9 heifers fed a daily ration of 8 lbs. of 

 alfalfa hay, 20 lbs. of corn silage, 1.75 lbs. corn meal, 0.5 lb. of wheat bran, 

 and 0.25 lb. of gluten feed gained an average of 0.97 lb. per head daily. An- 

 other lot of 9 heifers fed 7 lbs. of oat straw, 26 lbs. of corn silage, 1 lb. of 

 choice cottonseed meal, 1.5 lbs. of gluten feed, and 0.5 lb. of wheat bran gained 

 0.93 lb. per head daily and were judged as thrifty as the others at the end of 

 the test. These heifers ate only 4.5 lbs. of oat straw per head daily, the 

 remainder being used for bedding. 



A study in the cost of producing milk on four dairy farms, located in 

 Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina, M. O. Cooper, C. M. 

 Bennett, and L. M. Chuech (C/. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 501 (1917), pp. 35, figs. 8). — 

 By means of carefully kept cost accounting records covering from four to seven 

 years, data have been procured on the cost of producing milk on four dairy 

 farms of the better sort located in Dane County, Wis., McComb County, Mich., 

 Chester County, Pa., and Edgecombe County, N. C. This bulletin outlines the 

 problem of obtaining the complete cost of producing milk on these farms and 

 shows the relationship among the various items making up the total cost, as 

 indicated by the data procured. The items of cost were classified as feed and 

 bedding, labor, use of building, use of equipment, use of bull, interest, deprecia- 

 tion, miscellaneous items, and overhead. The actual and percentage costs of 

 each of these items are tabulated. 



It was found that the actual cost of keeping a cow for one year on the 

 Wisconsin farm was $101.62, on the Michigan farm $125.45, on the Pennsylvania 

 farm $103.12, and on the North Carolina farm $127.76. The most important cost 

 item was the expense for feed, this constituting on the Wisconsin, North Carolina, 

 and Pennsylvania farms, where the herds depended largely upon pasturage for 

 summer feed, approximately 50 per cent of the total cost, and on the Michigan 

 farm, where the cattle were stall-fed throughout the year, 57.2 per cent of the 

 total cost. The cost of labor was next in importance to that of feed, averaging 

 approximately one-fourth of the total cost. This labor includes the work of 

 men and horses required to feed and care for the cows, handle the milk, and 

 market the products. 



The total credits other than dairy products, such as value of manure, calves, 

 and, in some cases, an appreciation in the value of the cows, ranged from 

 $12.27 to $20.33 per cow. The average annual production of milk and milk fat 

 per cow for the years for which complete and comparable data were secured 

 was for the Wisconsin farm 5,240 lbs. of milk and 256 lbs. of fat ; for the 

 Michigan farm, 6,536 lbs. of milk and 293 lbs. of fat ; for the Pennsylvania farm, 

 5,053 lbs. of milk and 207 lbs. of fat ; and for the North Carolina farm 5,142 

 lbs. of milk. The net cost of production per 100 lbs. of milk was as follows: 

 Wisconsin farm, $1.52 ; Michigan farm, $1.61 ; Pennsylvania farm, $1.80 ; and 

 North Carolina farm, $2.16. It cost 31.2 cts. per pound to produce milk fat on 

 the Wisconsin farm, 35.9 cts. on the Michigan farm, and 49.8 cts. on the 

 Pennsylvania farm. 



The results obtained in this study, together with data from other sources, 

 are discussed in their bearing upon the production of milk throughout the 

 country. The relation of milk production and the cost per cow to the cost per 



