Preface and Acknowledgements 



This bulletin is the fifth in a series concerned with production 

 efficiency on New England dairy farms. In the first bulletin, a pre- 

 liminary appraisal was made of the important opportunities for 

 reducing costs in dairying. In the second and third bulletins of 

 the series, the economies of scale of operations and of the barn- 

 finishing method of harvesting hay, respectively, were analyzed 

 in greater detail. The fourth bulletin dealt with the efficient use 

 of machinery and equipment on dairy farms. The present publi- 

 cation investigates the raising of dairy herd replacements from 

 the standpoint of the best use of agricultural resources by in- 

 dividual dairymen and in the dairy economy. 



The authors are indebted to the many farmers and Dairy 

 Herd Improvement Association Supervisors who helped to supply 

 the basic information used in the study. They also wish to ac- 

 knowledge the use of New Hampshire Experiment Station Bulletin 

 302, a study of dairy herd replacement practices, written by Harold 

 C. Grinnell, which provided much of the background information. 

 They wish especially to acknowledge the assistance and critical 

 appraisal received from the staff of the Agricultural Economics 

 Department of the University of New Hampshire; and from C. W. 

 Crickman and Merton S. Parsons, Production Economics Re- 

 search Branch, Agricultural Research Service, United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. The authors are also in- 

 debted to the staff of the Dairy Department, University of New 

 Hampshire, particularly Gunnar B. Olsson, C. Hilton Boynton, 

 and Harry A. Keener for their help and assistance. 



