196 



Types and Market Classes of Live Stock 



15.5 pounds is fifth. The United States ranks only tenth in per capita 

 consumption of cheese with an annual consumption of 4.2 pounds, 

 while Switzerland leads with 26.4 pounds. ^ 



Conditions suitable to dairy farming. — Dairying is especially 

 adapted to regions where the land is improved and productive of good 

 crops of grain and roughage, and where the labor necessary for the 

 continuous care of dairy cows is available. Dairy cows require more 

 labor than any other class of farm animals. Feed and labor are both 

 large items of expense in dairying, and the demand for them is constant, 

 whereas in the production of meat animals the demands for feed and 

 labor are to a greater degree seasonal. Economy requires that as 



Fig. 67. — Distribution of dairy cattle in the United States. 



much of the feed as possible shall be produced on the farm. The dairy 

 cow is well adapted to high-priced lands and to diversified and inten- 

 sive farming in which the farmer strives to produce the largest possible 

 return from a limited or relatively small acreage. Dairy farming 

 rightly practiced under favorable conditions is very profitable. 



Dairying for the production of butter and cheese is successfully 

 practiced in regions far remote from markets and consuming centers, 

 but the production of market milk necessitates ready access to markets. 



Success in breeding dairy cattle. — No greater strides have been 

 made in animal breeding during recent years than have been made by 

 many breeders of purebred dairy cattle. These breeders keep accurate 



IT. R. Pirtle: A Handbook of Dairy Statistics, U. S. Dept. Agr., 1922. 



