AN ECONOMIC STUDY OF DAIRYING 279 



RESULTS OF THE INVESTIGATION 



For convenience the results of this study are arranged in five parts. 

 Part I considers the entire dairy enterprise as the unit of study; Part II 

 deals with cows only, Part III with heifers, Part IV with herd bulls, and 

 Part V with veals and bulls to be sold. 



PART I. CONCERNING THE ENTIRE ENTERPRISE 



When the entire dairy enterprise is considered the unit, all the costs of 

 maintaining cows, costs of growing and maintaining heifers, calves, veals, 

 bulls to be sold, and herd bulls, costs of marketing dairy products, and any 

 other costs for dairy cattle, are charged. All returns from the enterprise are 

 credited and the difference is considered the gain or loss on the enterprise. 



The dairy is only one of the various parts of a farm business, and there- 

 fore the results do not show the gain or loss on the whole farm. An investi- 

 gation that included the labor income as well as costs and returns for the 

 dairy would be useful. 



Costs 



The various costs chargeable to dairy cattle may be classified as follows : 

 feed, bedding, labor, milk hauling, use of buildings, use of equipment, 

 interest, and miscellaneous charges. 



Feed 



No account was taken of feed given to stock other than dairy cattle. 

 The total quantities and costs of the various feedstuffs used by all dairy 

 cattle, by cows during the pasture period, by heifers, by herd bulls, and 

 by bulls raised to be sold, were obtained separately in the field. The feed 

 used by cows during the winter period was considered to be the difference 

 between the total herd quantities and the other quantities. 



All grain, succulent feed, and forage raised on the farm and used by cattle, 

 was charged at what it would sell for at the farm, that is, its market value 

 less the cost of marketing. All feedstuffs purchased were charged at the 

 prices paid. The cost of- hauling to the farm was included with labor, 

 equipment, milk hauling, and other costs. Much of the purchased grain 

 is hauled home by the farmer when returning from delivering the milk. 

 This was included with the charge for milk hauling. Extra trips for feed, 

 as well as the time spent hauling home-grown grains to and from the mills 

 and the time spent mixing feed, was charged under labor. 



Grain and other concentrates. With grain and other concentrates 

 were included all concentrated feedstuffs, namely, all grains and their 

 by-products whether home-grown or purchased, 4 calf meal, condimental 

 feeds, and salt (table i). The charge for grain represented 36 per cent 

 of the total feed cost and 20 per cent of the total cost of the enterprise. 



On the 149 farms there were six different kinds of grain raised and fed 

 cattle, and at least forty-three different kinds of grain purchased and fed. 



