Grain Feeding Levels 



The quality of cows is a major determinant of the milk produced 

 per cow and relative profitability of cows. It exerts little influence on 

 the level of grain feeding. The high quality cows have a relatively 

 low response to grain feeding due to the characteristics of the function 

 used in this study. 



The slope of the milk response functions for low, medium and 

 high quality cows reflects the additional milk which is estimated to be 

 produced with a given increase in grain fed. In determining optimum 

 levels of grain feeding, the added income from milk sales and the 

 reduced cost of forage are equated with the added cost of grain. The 

 slope of the milk response function and the milk price largely deter- 

 mines the optimum level of grain feeding, because the reduced costs 

 of forage are very small in comparison to the added cost of grain and 

 the added income from milk sales. The.-se reduced costs of forage 

 alter the level of grain feeding only at very high and very low ratios 

 of cows to cropland (see table 6 for all situations considered). The 

 level of grain feeding may be reduced by 500 pounds at very exten- 

 sive ratios where forage opportunity costs are low, or increased by 

 500 pounds at very intensive ratios where forage opportunity costs 

 are high. 



The Replacement Program 



Other alternatives in the dairy herd are production of replace- 

 ments and disposition of the joint products — replacements and 

 heifer calves. The alternatives available v/ere: 



(1) Buy all replacements required for the dairy herd. 



(2) Raise replacements which can be raised with resources not 

 accessible to dairy cows and purchase the balance required 

 by the herd. 



(3) Raise only the number of replacements required by the herd. 



(4) Keep the maximum number of milk cows and raise enough 

 replacements to fully utilize the stall space available. 



(5) Raise the maximum number of replacements and keep only 

 enough milk cows to fully utilize the stall space remaining. 

 In this alternative replacements displace cows from available 

 stall spaces. 



The first alternative of buying all replacements is used only at 

 the maximum intensity of cropland use with the high and medium 

 milk response functions at the highest milk price. In these two solu- 

 tions the opportunity costs of using the forage, grain, and labor to 

 produce milk are great enough to exclude the raising of replacements 

 entirely. All heifer calves are sold at birth in these two solutions. 



The second alternative, that of raising replacements only with 

 facilities not usable by dairy cows, is employed at high intensity ratios 

 with the high and medium milk response functions at the $6.00 and 



18 



