A STUDY IN THE COST OF PRODUCING MILK. 



NORTH CAROLINA FARM. 



Table YI gives a summary of the quantities and cost of feed con- 

 sumed per cow by the North Carolina farm herd, 1908-1914, inclusive. 

 Owing to a marked change in the method of feedmg in 1914, when 

 the cows were stall-fed most of the year, the figures for this year 

 were omitted in making a representative yearly average for the 

 farm. The kinds of feed available on this farm, owing to its loca- 

 tion, are distinctly different from those on the three northern farms. 

 The basis of the concentrates used in the ration was cottonseed meal 

 supplemented with dried beet pulp. Small quantities of gluten 

 feed, bran, corn meal, and patent feeds were also used. The con- 

 centrates were mixed and apportioned to the cows on the basis of 

 individual production, and the quantity fed per cow increased from 

 year to year. A large portion of the dry roughage was cottonseed 

 hulls, which were purchased locally at about $6 per ton. Other 

 roughage consisted of home-grown hay, made from peanut vines, 

 soy beans, cowpeas, and mixed grasses and clover. Beginning in 

 1909, the addition of silage to the ration resulted in a reduction of 

 both concentrates and dry roughage. However, each succeeding 

 year a larger quantity of concentrates was fed, while the dry rough- 

 age remained about constant, except for 1914, when the cows 

 depended less on pasture. 



Table VI. — Annual quantity of feed and its cost per cow on the North Carolina farm. 



Year. 



Concentrates. 



Dry roughage. 



Silage. 



Soiling 

 crops. 



Pas- 

 ture 

 value. 



$4.05 

 3.88 

 4.41 

 3.02 

 3.50 

 3.76 

 1.36 



Total 

 feed 

 cost. 



Quantity. 



Value. 



Quantity. 



Value. 



Quantity. 



Value. 



1908 



Pounds. 

 1,957 

 1,627 

 2,137 

 2,616 

 2,740 

 2,843 

 3,107 



828.06 

 23.36 

 32.37 

 40.40 

 36.12 

 41.60 

 45.04 



Pounds. 

 6,261 

 4,566 

 3,793 

 3,771 

 3,781 

 3,613 

 5,298 



S21.07 

 13.69 

 14.33 

 12.91 

 9.78 

 12.08 

 16.57 



Pounds. 





Value. 



$53 18 



1909 



5,268 

 2,712 

 6,800 

 3,013 

 5,407 

 6,223 



$13. 18 

 6.78 

 17.00 

 7.53 

 13.53 

 15.56 



'"$3." 67' 

 '"'3." 27' 



"'e.'gs' 



54.11 



1910 



61 56 



1911 



73. 33 



1912 



60.20 



1913 



70 97 



1914 



85.48 







Average, 6 years i . . 



2,320 



33.65 



4,298 



13.98 



3,867 



9.67 



1.16 



3.77 



62.62 



1 1914 not included in average. 



During three summers soiling crops were used to supplement 

 silage. The increased total quantity of feed consumed each suc- 

 ceeding year is reflected in an upward trend in the total cost of feed 

 per cow for the period. Variation in the price per ton of corn-and- 

 cob meal is reflected in the total cost of feed. From 1908 to 1914 

 the prices per ton paid for this meal, bought in large quantities, 

 were, by years, $28.55, $28.54, $30.07, $31.04, $25, $26.50, $27, and 

 $22, the average per year for the period being $28.13. The price of 

 beet pulp ranged from $29,30 to $32, with an average of $30.57. The 

 price per ton of the feeding mixture varied from $26.36 to $30.89, 

 68922°— Bull. 501—17 2 



