FACTORS FOR SUCCESS IN DAIRY FARMING 



267 



farms of less than 20 acres have 36 per cent of their capital 

 invested in buildings and machinery. Those of 100 to 174 

 acr< s have only 17 per cent of the money thus invested, yet 

 they have much better buildings and more machinery. 

 Money thus employed not only is unproductive, but it is a 

 soiree of constant cost for repairs. If a farmer had all his 

 money invested in buildings and machinery, his income 

 would, of course, be zero. In fact, he would not be a farmer 

 at nil. 



TAILE 40. AREA RELATED TO INVESTMENT IN BUILDINGS AND 

 MACHINERY,. FOR UNITED STATES, 1909, FROM THE CENSUS 

 REPORT 



229. Size of the Herd. In regions where very little ex- 

 cept dairy products is sold, the number of cows kept is the 

 best measure of the size of the business. Table 41 gives 

 results from such a region in Jefferson County, New York, 

 and shows that farmers who have herds of 20 or more cows 

 are doing very much better than those who have smaller 

 herds. In fact, the size of the herd is as important as the 

 quality of the cows. The usual advice to sell the poorest 

 cows and keep only the best ones should be changed to the 

 more practical advice to replace the poorest cows by good 



