Table 8. Estimated Change in Annual Net Returns from Changing to Green- 

 Chop Feeding (soilage or zero grazing) in Place of Conventional Pasturing — 



Two Cows Added. 



$1,027 



Changes in Returns 



Milk sales $1,000 



Livestock (culls) 111 



Com grain — 84 



Total 



Changes in Expenses 



Crops: Fuel and lub. $ 27 



Machine hire — 113 



Livestock: Feed 78 



Breeding and vet. 23 



Milk testing and marketing 52 



Miscellaneous 62 



Other: Machinery repairs 63 



Building repair 14 



Taxes 22 



Hired labor 315 



Depreciation 283 



Interest 149 



Total 



Estimated Change in Net Return to Labor and Management 



$ 975 



+$ 52 



Buying Replacement Heifers Instead of Raising Them 



Another possibility for increasing the output of milk from a farm is to 

 purchase replacements rather than to raise them. This frees a certain amount 

 of building space, labor and home grown feeds which then can be used 

 for the milking herd. In this situation the farmer has an average of twelve 

 replacements of various ages. Home grown feeds, notably forage required 

 for these replacements will provide feed for an additional six milking cows, 

 increasing herd size from 25 to 31 cows. It will be assumed that the space 

 vacated by the young stock would provide room for an additional three 

 cows, hence, additional building charges will only have to be charged for 

 the remaining three cows. Milk receipts for the additional six cows amount 

 to $3,000 per year (Table 9). Assuming that each cow has roughly a :ave- 

 year productive life, the farmer would have to buy six replacements annual- 

 ly at a cost of $2,100. Adding to that some minor elements of cost, there 

 appears to be a difference in favor of purchasing replacements at $310. 



This change does not affect the amount of labor hired nor does it affect 

 materially the capital required to operate the farm. This method of pro- 

 viding replacements would not be particularly desirable for someone inter- 

 ested in selling breeding stock. Some people would also object that the 

 purchasing of replacements is more likely to increase the incidence of dis- 

 ease. Studies have not shown that farms that purchase their replacements 

 have any more disease than farms that raise their own, however. 



12 



