AN ECONOMIC STUDY OF DAIRYING 



325 



the market and on land that is better adapted to raising good winter feed. 

 Some of the better production in the large herds may be due to the use of 

 silage and to better feeding generally. 



Data showing the relation of the size of herd to various other factors 

 are given in table 37. 



L abor required 



The most important influence of size of herd is on labor per cow and per 

 unit of product. The higher farm wages are, the more important this 

 influence becomes. 



In herds of from six to ten cows, averaging 8.6 cows, the labor averaged 

 217 hours per cow and 3.97 hours per hundred pounds of milk. Less labor 

 was required in each of the groups of larger herds. In herds with more 

 than eighteen cows, averaging 23.3 cows, the figures were i&i hours per 

 cow and 2.75 hours per hundred pounds of milk. The da^a are given 

 in table 38. 



At 1 5 cents an hour the labor charges per hundred pounds of milk would 

 be 19 cents more for 9-cow herds than for 2 3 -cow herds. At 30 cents 

 an hour they would be 37 cents more, and at 40 cents per hour they would 

 be 49 cents more, per hundred pounds. The figures are given in table 39 : 



TABLE 39. RELATION OF SIZE OF HERD TO LABOR CHARGE PER UNIT OF PRODUCT 



* Including time for hauling milk. 



Use of buildings 



Much time is often wasted in doing chores in unhandy barns. The 

 inconvenient location o.f milk house, ice house, or silo increases labor. 

 Barns with cows facing outward so that a wagon, a sled, or a spreader 

 may be driven thru for the manure, save labor, especially if the manure 

 is hauled daily. Such an arrangement is also more convenient when a 

 milking machine is used. There is very little work at the mangers during 

 the pasture period. 



The investment in buildings per cow, and the charge for their use, was 

 highest in the small herds. Many small herds were housed in additions 

 attached to the main barn, which reduced the cost of shelter. The larger 



