88 



N. H. Agr. Expekimext Station 



[Bulletin 260 



Table 77 — Milk production. Summary of returns and profitft for 5,566 coira. 



(326 farms with 6 cows or more) 



Returns. 



Per farm. 



Per cow. 



A 



Per 100 pounds 

 of milk. 



Amount. Value. Percent. Amount. 



N ' > 



Value. Amount. Value. 



Milk 



Sold 82,156 $2,515 82.7 



Used on farm 6,909 178 5.9 



Calves born during- 



year 16 82 2.7 



Manure recovered .... 140 265 8.7 



Miscellaneous 0* 



Total returns $3,040 100.0 



Gain $295 



Total credits except milk 347 



Net cow cost for all milk pro- 

 duced 2,398 



4,812.0 $147.32 92.2 $2.82 



404.7 



10.43 



.8 



0.20 



$178.06 



$3.41 



$17.31 

 20.31 



140.44 



$0.33 

 0.39 



2.69 



Milk cost per farm (simple average) $3.05 



Milk price per farm (simple average) $3.00 



* Less than $0.50. 

 ** Less than $0,005. 



on individual farms for the purpose of determining ways and means 

 of reducing expenses or increasing" returns. As indicating actual losses 

 or gains, they are much less valuable. If the cost of producing milk on 

 a given farm were $3.00 a hundredweight, and if the milk sohl at the 

 same price, the enterprise would have paid for labor, including the 

 estimated value of tlie operator's time and other unpaid family labor, 

 as well as for all other exiienses incident to its production. The direct 

 cash costs in Table 76 maj' include most of the grain, possibly the bed- 

 ding, cash milk hauling, taxes, electricity and a part of the labor ; but 

 there are many items like liay, silage, ])asture, housing costs, interest 

 on cows, and labor furnished by the oi)erator which do not represent 

 cash outlay. If the operator estimated his time worth $100 a month, 

 that part of it expended in milk production has been paid for at that 

 rate. Likewise the hay, silage corn and ])asture furnished by the farm 

 have been paid for at an estimated price. 



If a farmer's cost of production were $3.00 per hundredweight and 

 the milk had to be sold for $2.95, the 5-cent loss would be less signifi- 

 cant than the question of what he should do in ]')lacc of ]n'oducing milk. 

 "With milk, he i)aid nearly all costs including the estimated value of his 

 own time and that of other members of his family M'ho may have as- 

 sisted. With other enterprises, he would probably have lost more. Fur- 

 thermore, cost of ])roduction figures should stimulate him to improve 

 his methods in the milk business and thus to eliminate even the 5-cent 

 loss. 



