202 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE 



May, 1921. 



of group 6 to have arranged the farm business so 

 that a greater percentage of receipts came from cash 

 crops. The average labor incomes of groups 1 and 2 

 are both Iotv. Their size seems to be such that it is dif- 

 ficult to keep a sufficient number of cows to give a 

 fair income, compared with the two larger sized groups. 

 On small farms in order to secure an income propor- 

 tionate to the larger farms- some cash crops which 

 would give greater returns per acre should have been 

 incorporated with the dairjnng which would have given 

 greater returns per acre t/ian did eows alone. To 

 summarize then, it would appear tliat cash crops or 

 side lines are instrumental in raising labor incomes on 

 all si^es of farms. 



It may be not«d that the farmers of groups 1, 3 and 

 5 were able to employ labor more economically than 

 did the farmers of groups 2, 4 and 6, as is indicated 

 by the eolumn.s headed "K'rop area per man", and 

 "Crop area per horse." - 



The farm operations should be so planned that the 

 greatest return is received for labor expended and 

 capital invested. Suca side lines as hogs, sheep, poul- 

 try, grain or perhap.s fruit, may be incorporated where 

 these would fit in well wth the organization of dairy 

 farms. This would assist in economizing on labor, 

 also in using to advantage by-products of the dairy 

 and in making greater use of products of little value in 

 the production of milk. 



The crop index eolunm shows that the larger farms 

 grew the best crops. This is contrary to expectations. 

 T;ie farmere on small acreage shoidd produce the 

 /iea\-iest yielding crops. Although their crop acreage 

 is small it caimot be overlooked and high yields would 

 cut down feed bills quite mat-erially and thus add 

 directly to their labor income. 



The column headed "Best labor incomes" shows 

 what was actually done on some farms during the year 

 this survey covered. T^ie largest labor incomes on the 

 small farms were not very high for that year indi- 

 cating the difficulty that many faced wlien they 

 specialized in dairying on smaU farms. 



FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE THE COST OF 



PRODUCING BUTTER FAT. 



Table No. 7. 



% Labor 

 Groups No. Capital of 



Cost of 100 of per Farm' Crop 



lbs. B. F. Farms Acre Receipts Index 



Below $76 12 $391.85 17.15 100.7 



$76-$l00 12 $382.34 25.4 91.8 



Above $100 21 $432.94 19.5 87.0 



c * 



Cost 

 Fat of 100 

 per lbs. 



^S Cow lbs. B.F. 

 66.6 253.3 $62.90 

 50.0 224.8 $90.46 

 39.0 215.0 $128.53 

 1 



In order to determine whj^ the cost of producing 

 butter fat varies- on different farms Table No. 7 was 

 prepared to show what had the greatest influence. 

 T;ie average price the farmer received for his milk 

 was $76 per 100 pounds of butter fat. The groups 

 are .so arranged in the table that the farmers who 

 produced butter fat at a profit are those of the first 

 group. The second and third groups have produced 

 butter fat at a loss. Capital per acre plays some part 

 in varying butter fat costs. Those who produced at 

 a cost of. over $1 per pound have an average of $432 

 invested per acre, which is much above the first two 



groups who produce at considerably less cost. The 

 "$76-$100" group have least capital per acre, but they 

 employ labor uuprofitably, which is shown in eolunm 

 "Per cent labor of farm receipts," thus they were not 

 able to overtake the first group. The Crop Index 

 column is self-explanatory. To secure greatest re- 

 turns and thus lessen cost, of production, good crops 

 are necessary as shown previously in t^iis report. 



The breeding of the herd has a very marked effect 

 in lowering costs. It may be noted that the percentage 

 of farms lia%ang a pure bred sire on the farm for 

 5 yeare or over is much higher with the farmers pro- 

 ducing at lowest cost. As t^e percentage of farms 

 having pure bred sires on the farm 5 years and over 

 decreases, the cost of production of butter fat in- 

 creases. 



The heay\- producing cows are the only ones that 

 should be maintained in the herd. A glance at the 

 above table shows the relationship between good breed- 

 ing and /ligh production and low cost. 



The Cost of Producing Butter Fat. 



For the purpose of determining the cost of produc- 

 ing butter fat only those farms could be used where 

 at least 50 per cent of the revenue came from milk. 

 All soui'ces of revenue other than milk were coiLsidered 

 as side lines. These side lines would have the effect 

 of raising or lowering the cost of production of butter 

 fat depending on whether tfie side lines were in them- 

 selves profitable or othei-wise. This explains the ne- 

 cessitj' of rejecting all farms which had less than 50 

 per cent of their revenue coming from milk alone. 



The method of determining the cost of producing 

 butter fat may best be shown by actual figures from 

 one farm. 



FARM No. 50.— A RENTED FARM. 



4,383 lbs. butter fat cost $3,259.99 

 100 lbs. butter fat cost 74.38 



T.he cost of producing butter fat on 47 farms wa.s 

 calculated by the methods here shown. This includes 

 fanns in the district of Chiltiwaek. Courtenay and 

 Ladner. The average cost of production was found 

 to be •';;92.97 per 100 pounds of butter fat or 93 cents 

 per pound. 



As the cost of production jaer 100 pounds of butter 

 fat varied on different farms from $50.76 to $193.85, 

 it can readily be seen that the average price as deter- 

 mined by the sm-vey is merely approximate. 



