18 BULLETIN" 633, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



was, respectively, $1,840 from 28 cows, $1,125 from 17 cows, $600 

 from 20 cows, and $621 from 13 cows. The farm having 28 cows 

 raised 12 acres of corn and 10 acres of sorghum fodder ; also 1 acres 

 of millet and 3 acres of rye for hay. It had only 52.5 acres of crops, 

 there being only 11 acres of wheat. The other three farms had from 

 100 to 135 acres of crops, including from 40 to 60 acres of wheat. 

 One of these farms had 30 acres of corn, 15 of which was cut for 

 silage. Because of the large number of cows on these farms it was 

 necessary to supplement the corn by other kinds of forage. As al- 

 ready stated, one of the farms did this by growing 10 acres of 

 sorghum fodder, 4 acres of millet, and 3 acres of rye hay. An- 

 other, which had 20 acres of corn, grew also 20 acres of sorghum 

 fodder. The farm which had 15 acres of corn for grain and 15 acres 

 of silage had 12 acres of clover for hay and 15 acres of rye pasture. 

 The other farm had 40 acres of corn, 5 acres of cowpeas, and 25 

 acres of oats. 



Two of these farms sold all their milk at retail in the town of 

 Monett, the retail price being 4| cents a quart. The income per cow 

 for milk sold on these two farms was, in both cases, $67. A third 

 farm obtained $200 for retail milk at 5 cents a quart and $400 from 

 cream sold to the creamery at an average of 25 cents per pound for 

 butter fat. The fourth farm sold only butter, the average price being 

 27-J- cents, and the income from this •source being $624. The labor 

 incomes on these farms were $1,691, $552, $663, and $1,299, re- 

 spectively. 



A good dairy cow should produce 4,000 or 5,000 pounds of good 

 milk a year. The average pounds of milk per cow on these four 

 farms, not counting the milk consumed on the farm, was as follows: 

 3,188, 3,743, 2,030, and 2,268. On three of them the cows were all 

 Jerseys, some of them pure bred and others grades. One of the 

 farms had Jersey grade cows with a Hereford bull. It also had four 

 pure-bred Hereford cows and was probably changing from the dairy 

 business to the beef-cattle business. It would be a great mistake 

 for a dairyman to use a bull of a beef breed if he wishes to continue 

 in the dairy business. 



Judging by the experience of the majority of farmers here the 

 proper status of dairying in this region, except for the few farms 

 that are needed to supply milk to the town, is represented by the 

 keeping of a few cows mainly as a means of converthig roughage 

 and other unsalable materials into a salable product, the cream 

 being sold to creameries and the young stock being raised mainly 

 on waste products of the farm. These cows should be either good 

 dairy cows or good animals of a beef breed, the principal income 

 from them in the latter case being from the sale of young stock. 



