280 DAIRY FARMING 



cash crops be raised. Even if the cows are highly profitable, it 

 may still pay to raise crops for sale, because these crops can 

 be raised at very little additional cost. It might be suggested 

 that more cows be kept to eat the additional crops, but this 

 calls for more men, who in turn can raise additional crops. 



In regions where cash crops are not raised, the women 

 usually help with the milking because the farmer can raise 

 feed for more cows than he can milk, and it does not pay to 

 keep a hired man unless there is full work for him. Women 

 can milk and do housework between milkings. If the 

 region is well adapted to crops, it pays better to employ men 

 and have them do farm work between milkings. Figure 78, 

 page 279, shows the distribution of labor on a very success- 

 ful diversified dairy farm. The owners of this farm have 

 followed the same system for three generations and have 

 always been successful. 



If a farm is too heavily stocked, much feed will have to be 

 purchased in a poor year or some of the stock must be sold. 

 In such years feed is likely to be very high and stock cheap, 

 so that whatever one does he is likely to lose. 



If a farm is too heavily stocked, the returns per ton of 

 manure used will be low. The value of manure depends on 

 how heavily it is applied. A light application usually gives 

 better returns per ton of manure than does a heavy applica- 

 tion, as shown on page 235. 



If one goes to the other extreme and keeps no animals or 

 too few animals, he will not have a full year's work. Animals 

 help to provide winter work, they provide work night and 

 morning when the days are too short to allow a full day of field 

 work. Notice how little winter work there would be for the 

 farm shown in figure 78 if there were no cows and no manure 

 hauling. 



