10 



University of New Hampshire 



[Sta. Bull. 322 



CE03S INCOME PEC COW 



GpoJi INCOME PEB some operators who fed a 



cow IE55CPAIN COST |.^,.j,e amouiit ot 



grain 



had no larger return over 

 grain cost per cow than 

 others who fed less grain. 

 Ftnir farms, represent- 

 ed in heavy lines in fig- 

 ure 6. stand out in par- 

 ticular as instances in 

 which the grain cost took 

 a large toll from the to- 



FiGUUE 6. Relation between gross income per 

 cow and gross income less grain cost per 

 cow on individual farms. 



had no larger net returns 

 than three other farms 

 with m ore moderate 

 grain feeding. The sec- 

 ond farm with $1 12 gross 

 per cow hacl no larger 

 net returns than 13 oth- 

 ers with less gross sales 

 and less grain feeding. 

 All the facts are not 

 available to determine tin- 

 most profitable amount 

 of grain to feed on these 

 individual farms but these 

 lour farms were undoubt- 

 edly fi-eding more grain 

 than the i)rice situation 

 justified. A few at the 

 other extreme were not 



feeding sufficient grain to secure the highest net profit. Some of the 

 very low grain feeding was induced by a lack of money to purchase 

 grain at this period in the depression. 



A study of these same farms at a time when prices of both milk 

 and grain had been stabilized for several years would probably show 

 less divergence in grain feeding. The abnormal shift in prices, the 

 lack of operating funds on some farms, and basic rating difficulties 

 confused the operators and resulted in wide variations in ])ractices. 



It may be well to note that the additional milk produced beyond 

 the point of jjrofilablc grain feeding contributed to the general sur- 

 I)lus situation. 



Chore Labor 



Man labor required in daily chore work on cows and heifers is 

 an imi)ortant item of cost in milk production, but because it largely 

 represents the labor of the o])erator or his famil}- it must be handled 

 differently in arriving at decisions. Man labor used directly on chores 

 averaged 7.4 hours per day on the 38 farms. The average time re- 

 (|uired i>er Cf)W was 148 hours. However, the time on indivi(hial 



