272 



DAIRY FARMING 



effective. But the milk produced for a given amount of 

 barn room and labor is also important. Of two animals 

 that are equally efficient users of food, the larger animal is 

 usually much more profitable. Table 42 gives the value 

 of the milk and value of the feed for 355 cows in 

 Wisconsin. 



TABLE 42. RELATION OF SIZE OF Cows TO VALUE OF PRODUCT 

 ABOVE FOOD CosT 1 



It takes very little more barn room and very little more 

 labor to care for large cows than it does for small ones. 

 Medicine, veterinary fees, and many other expenses cost 

 about the same for large as for small cows. These costs were 

 found to be $25 per year in Minnesota, and $29 in New 

 York (page 247). 



According to the figures in Table 42 a herd of 15 cows av- 

 eraging 1276 pounds in weight would make more butter than 

 20 cows averaging 847 pounds. The saving on labor, barn 

 room, and other fixed costs, would be about $125 per year 



1 Data furnished by F. W. Woll, for cows whose records are reported in 

 Wisconsin, Bulletin 226. 



