THE ECONOMIC ASPECT OF MILK PRODUCTION 577 



profitable herd. Stationery for the purpose of keeping records of 

 cows can be purchased. 



Fraser summarizes an investigation of dairy conditions on 317 

 farms in the following manner: "It is encouraging to know that 

 the labor involved in making the profit of $5000 per year in dairy- 

 ing is practically no greater than that expended when $1500 is 

 lost, and . . . that there is no question as to the possibility 

 of making money by dairy farming." The following table illus- 

 trates conditions: 



The labor income of one dairyman was $5602 



The labor income of each of three dairymen was over 5000 



The labor income of each of four dairymen was over 4000 



The labor income of each of eight dairymen was over 3000 



The labor income of each of twenty dairymen was over 2000 



The labor income of each of eighty dairymen was over 1000 



The loss of each of twenty dairymen was over 500 



The loss of each of ten dairymen was over 1000 



The loss of each of two dairymen was over 1500 



The loss of one dairyman was 17 16 



"Any man who speaks lightly of the great difference in the 

 final results of keeping good and poor cows, and raising good and 

 poor crops, shows only his ignorance of the height or depth to 

 which these factors can take a dairyman and his family." 



Lane gives an example of a dairyman who profited greatly by 

 introducing the Babcock test. Out of his 64 cows, 21 failed to 

 come up to the standard of 200 pounds of butter per year, and 

 these were disposed of. The second year the dairyman raised 

 his standard to 210 pounds of butter-fat, and disposed of 15 cows 

 which did not reach this amount. The third year the standard 

 was set at 225 pounds, and 6 cows were sold. The fourth year his 

 mature cows produced 300 pounds of butter. 



In another case related by Lane, the average amount of butter 

 produced by the cows was raised from 125 to 151 pounds. After 

 the lapse of eleven years more, the amount of butter was 343 

 pounds. In dollars and cents this example shows how the sales 

 can proceed from an actual loss to a profit of $60.28 per cow. 



Co-operation and organization have done much for milk pro- 

 ducers in many parts of the country. "Cow-testing associations " 

 were first organized in Denmark in 1892. The first association 

 in this country was organized by Rabild in Fremont, Mich., in 

 1905. The object of this association was "to promote the dairy 

 interests of its members, and particularly to provide means and 

 methods for testing the milk of the cows of the members period- 

 ically." Since that time many similar associations have been 

 established. 



The object of cow-testing associations is carried out in the 

 following manner: The cow tester, who is especially trained for 

 this kind of work, gives one day of every month to each member 



37 



