Adjustments in Obtaining Dairy Herd 



Replacements 



By G. E. Frick and W. F. Henry i 

 Introduction 



Agriculture in New England is becoming more and more specialized. 

 New England dairy farms had other profitable enterprises, such as potatoes, 

 field crops, poultry, or other livestock. But modern machinery, improved 

 production practices, and increased competition from newer agricultural 

 areas have gradually reduced the economic advantages of supplementary 

 enterprises on the dairy farm. 



The pressure toward specialization raises questions about the future 

 of dairy farming in New England. In particular, it raises the question as to 

 the direction future specialization should take to permit even more economic 

 utilization of resources on dairy farms. 



An adjustment opportunity in which there is widespread interest is 

 whether a New England dairyman should raise or buy replacements for 

 his dairy herd. Does the raising of dairy herd replacements represent the 

 best use of individual farm resources and the development of the New Eng- 

 land dairy economy? In some areas in the United States, milk is produced 

 under highly specialized systems that do not include production of feed 

 and dairy replacements. New England dairymen are aware of this, and 

 they want help in deciding the extent to which they should specialize. 



Recent Situation in Dairy Replacements 



For many years, dairy farmers in New England have devoted a large part 

 of their productive resources to the raising of dairy replacements. Each 

 year from 1945 through 1954, an average of 166,000 dairy animals were 

 raised to replacement age. To raise 166,000 replacements per year required 

 about 463,000 tons of hay or hay equivalent; the equivalent of 127,000 

 acres of improved legume rotation pasture; 7 million hours of man labor; 

 and 216,000 stanchions, or 11.6 million square feet of loose-type stabling. ^ 

 If all these resources could have been used for cows instead of for young 

 stock, it would have been possible to keep about 80,000 more cows. 



A certain amount of specialization in milk production apparently is 

 profitable on New England dairy farms, because in the last 10 years not 

 enough replacements have been produced in New England to fill the needs. 



iMr. Frick is Agricultural Economist, Production Economics Research Branch, 

 Agricultural Research Service, U.S.D.A., stationed at the University of New Hampshire. 

 Mr. Henry is Professor of Agricultural Economics, University of New Hampshire. 



~G. E. Frick and W. F. Henry, How Many Replacements Should a Dairyman Raise? 

 Cooperative Extension Service, University of New Hampshire, and the former Bureau 

 of Agricultural Economics, U.S.D.A., cooperating. 



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