the number of farms in Maine, New 

 Hampshire, and Vermont reporting 

 fewer than 10 cows declined from 

 25,600 to about 19,000, while the 

 number of farms reporting at least 



30 cows rose from below 3,000 to 

 above 4,000 (Table 16). These figures 

 apply to all farms reporting milk 

 cows, regardless of whether the farms 

 used bulk assembly in either year. 1 



Table 16. Farms in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont Reporting 

 Milk Cows, by Herd Size Group, 1950 and 1954* 



Herd Size 



No. of Farms 



Percentage Distribution 

 of Farms 



Under 10 



10-29 



30-49 



50 and over 



All 



1950 



40,582 



1954 



34,345 



1950 



100 



1954 



100 



!: Source: U. S. Census of Agriculture, 1954, vol. II, ch. VI, Table 21, pages 476-477. 



The proportion of each herd-size ing place. Among the farms studied, 



group which had added cows since 31 percent of those purchasing tanks 



the installation of a tank reveals the increased their herds after the shift 



extent to which increases were tak- to bulk assembly (Table 17). 



Table 17. Percentage of Farms with Tanks Increasing Herd Size 

 Since Purchase of Tank, by Herd Size Group 



Herd Size after Increase 



Percentage of Farms 



1-19 

 20-39 

 40-59 

 60 and over 

 All herds 



The herd increases were more fre- than 5 cows, which presumably were 



quent in the larger herds. The num- added without major alterations to 



ber added to herds indicates that existing facilities, 

 the majority of increases were less 



1 Moreover, it was necessary to use the data regarding "all farms reporting milk 

 cows" rather than figures on "all dairy farms," as comparable data for the two 

 years were not available on the latter basis. 



19 



