CHAPTER XXXII. 



ESTIMATING THE VALUE OF DAIRY STOCK. 



Valuing Coivs. 



To put dairying on a business basis requires that a 

 record be kept of each cow individually. This is im- 

 portant not only to determine which cows are paying for 

 their keep, but also to demonstrate to owners that high 

 producers, as a rule, are valued too low in comparison 

 with poor producers. Every cow must be valued ac- 

 cording to the net returns obtained from her; that is, 

 every item of expense must be deducted from the total 

 receipts in order to know whether a cow has been kept 

 at a profit or a loss. In the following paragraphs data 

 are presented to show the method of determining the net 

 profits as well as to give some idea of the relative value 

 of cows of different productive capacities. The figures 

 presented are based upon pure bred herds containing 

 thirty cows and one bull each. Furthermore, it is assumed 

 that all concentrated feeds are purchased at market prices 

 and that all roughage is raised on the farm and charged 

 at actual cost of production. To furnish the necessary 

 roughage and pasture, one and one-half acres of land are 

 allotted to each cow, one-half of which is devoted to pas- 

 ture and the other half to hay and forage production. 

 Eight years has been allowed as the period of usefulness 

 of a cow. 



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