FACTORS FOR SUCCESS IN DAIRY FARMING 271 



232. Costs and Returns must Both be Considered. No 

 set standard can be given for the receipts that are necessary 

 in 01 der to make a profit, because the costs of feed and labor 

 are ^o variable in different regions- and on different farms in 

 the ; ame region. But many studies of this question have 

 indicated that it is a fairly easy matter to obtain receipts per 

 cow of a half more than the average for the region. Usually 

 the :nost profitable farms in a region are doing as well as 

 this. But increased costs must also be considered. It is 

 not he return per cow, nor the cost, that is of most impor- 

 tance, but the relation between the two. Sometimes the 

 bett< r returns are obtained at too great cost. On the other 

 hami, a dairy herd that produces less than the average some- 

 times pays, because the farmer has reduced the cost of feed 

 and labor to a still lower point. 



233. For Good Returns the Poor Producers should be 

 Promptly Sold. In one county in New York the farmers 

 who obtained the best production per cow were doing the 

 most buying and selling of cows. Those who obtained poor 

 to fair returns were on the average replacing 1 cow in 23 by 

 purchase, but those who obtained the best returns replaced 

 one-seventh of the herd each year by purchase. 



Those who got the lowest production per cow replaced one- 

 seventh of the herd each year by cows purchased or raised. 

 Those who obtained good production replaced one-fifth, 

 and those who got the best production replaced one-fourth 

 each year. They disposed of poor cows and milked good 

 cows whether they were home-raised or purchased. The 

 essential point is not who raised the cow, but how much 

 her milk is worth. 



234. Size of Cows. As machines for changing feed into 

 milk, large cows and small cows seem to be about equally 



