28 OREGON FARMER 



While the average income as stated above probably represents 

 average conditions pretty closely, many herds show a much higher 

 income. An average of the three highest herds reported from each 

 of several counties gives a figure in excess of $100.00 per cow. For 

 instance, in Clatsop County, three herds containing a total of 50 

 cows are reported as averaging $118.59 per cow in one year. But 

 the three herds reporting lowest income in Clatsop County, contain- 

 ing a total of 83 cows, show an average per cow of only $29.26. It 

 is probable that the figures just given include the sale of some sweet 

 cream which can usually be sold at a price considerably in advance 

 of ordinary prices paid for cream for butter making purposes. 



In Tillamook County, where practically all milk sold is made 

 into cheese an average of the three highest income producing herds 

 reported, containing a total of 61 cows, shows an average per cow 

 of $114.59. But the three lowest producing herds, containing 71 

 cows, show an average per cow per year of only $37.61. These 

 averages are segregated from a total of 41 farms reporting incomes. 

 Tillamook County is the great cheese producing region of the 

 Pacific coast, and the product has a great reputation for uniformly 

 high quality. A co-operative selling association handles the greater 

 portion of the product, and has proven a most effective selling agency 

 from the standpoint of both seller and buyer. For the year 1912, 

 the product of twenty-two factories is reported as follows : 



Pounds of milk received 36,534,575 



Pounds of cheese made 4,016,150 



Amount received for cheese sold $646,132.90 



Average price per pound $ .161 



Pounds cheese per 100 pounds milk 10.99 



Information is not at hand to show how many cows produced 

 the milk from which this four million pounds of cheese was made. 

 But the latest U. S. census gives the total number of farms in Tilla- 

 mook County as 651, and since the output of all the factories in 

 the county is not included in the foregoing tabulation, we can safely 

 say that the average per farm is considerably in excess of $1,000.00. 



While averages show what is actually being done by the many, 

 the higher incomes of the few indicate what it is possible to accom- 

 plish. A bit of history of one Linn County dairy farm is of interest 

 in this connection. About four years ago, this farm of some three 

 hundred acres was purchased for less than $40.00 per acre. The 

 place had been poorly farmed and it was necessary to build a new 

 cow barn as one of the first improvements. The family consisted of 

 father, mother, and one grown son. They are "book farmers," 

 that is, they keep account of the income and the expenditures of 

 the farm and the account for the year 1912 shows a net profit of 

 about $3,600.00 after deducting all expenses, including an allowance 

 of six per cent interest on the investment. The dairy herd consists 

 of about equal numbers of pure bred and high grade Jerseys. The 

 product is sold in the form of sweet cream, shipped nearly a hundred 

 miles to Portland. Allowing 25 cents per hundred as the value 

 of the skim milk, in addition to the receipts for butter fat, the average 



