December, 1931] Dairy Farming in Grafton County 73 



management that can be measured on these farms. A good output in- 

 dex presupposes a good-sized business, since, as previously shown, size 

 of business is the most important factor affecting labor efficiency. 



Compared with dairy farms in general, this whole group is better 

 in respect to size, with an average of 15.7 cows per herd, and in labor 

 efficienc}^ with an average of 231 work units per man, than it is in re- 

 spect to production with an average of only 5,150 pounds of milk per 

 cow. It is always important in any business organization to adjust a 

 weak factor first. Therefore, an improvement of these herds from the 

 standpoint of milk production per cow should first be sought for this 

 region through better sanitation, better breeding, better feeding, or 

 any other legitimate means to that end. Better cows will often involve 

 a readjustment of size in respect to more cows and sometimes, more 

 acres. There are two reasons why : first, with better cows, a large sized 

 business becomes more important, and second, many of the farms at 

 present are much too small to allow reasonable labor efficiency. In 

 other words, with the individual small farm, size may well be the first 

 and most important adjustment to consider. 



Balance of the Farm Business 



Labor efficiencj^ usuall.y is much more dependent on size of business 

 and distribution of work through the year, a well balanced business, 

 than upon the managerial capacity of the farmer. Hiring and direct- 

 ing the few men likely to be employed on a farm at any one time is not 

 a serious problem. Because of the seasonal requirements of many farm 

 enterprises, a good labor distribution is difficult to attain. Hay must 

 be cured when the sun shines, and crops can hardly be raised in winter. 



Dairying is well adapted to Grafton County cojiditions because it 

 makes good use of land for pasture that is unsuited for cro])ping, uti- 

 lizes hay and other forage easy to grow but having little market value, 

 provides manure for the maintenance of fertility in soils naturally res- 

 ponsive to its use, and is within reasonable distance of a good market 

 for a highly perishable and bulky product like whole milk. Without 

 dairying, there would be little use so far north for the rich alluvial 

 soils of the Connecticut River. Many intensive cash crops are unsuited 

 to the short growing season, and extensive crops are hardly accom- 

 modated by the small fields. 



Under usual conditions, a dairy farm needs some diversification. It 

 is seldom that the wholesale milk business alone has provided the best 

 organization for farms in any region. In the past, when cows were 

 milked by hand, to care for ten was a man's job, but it only provided 

 about half a year's work as measured by man work units. The milking 

 machine has made it possible for a man to milk more cows, but it has 

 not eliminated all the advantages to be obtained from combining other 

 enterprises with wholesale milk. There are fewer chores in summer, 

 and the days are longer. Therefore, it is usually good management to 

 develop one or two enterprises other than dairying for a part or all of 

 the year to provide additional receipts without a commensurate in- 

 crease in expenses. The variety of enterprises to choose for this pur- 

 pose in Grafton County is somewhat restricted. 



