FARM MANAGEMENT PRACTICE OF CHESTER COUNTY, PA. 77 



even more important here than in a region where fewer cows are 

 kept. 



Table XLIII. — Relation of receipts per cow to labor income, Pennsylvania 



oioner farms. 





Five and more cows. 



Divided according to receipts per cow. 



Number 

 of farms. 



Receipts 

 per cow. 



Adjusted 

 income. 



Labor 

 income. 



50 and less 



48 

 43 

 27 

 51 

 24 

 39 

 29 

 28 



$42 

 C8 

 57 

 75 

 86 

 96 

 110 

 138 



Per cent. 

 55 

 102 

 92 

 99 

 111 

 137 

 162 

 175 



$418 



51 to 60 



592 



61 to 70 



783 



71 to 80 



782 



81 to 90 



831 



91 to 100 



1,185 



101 to 120 



1,422 



Over 120 



1,602 







Total 



289 



80 



111 



906 







Within the limits found in this survey the labor income increases 

 markedly as the income per cow increases. Forty-eight farmers re- 

 ceived $50 or less income per cow. Their labor income was 45 per 

 cent below the general average. Twenty-eight farms had incomes 

 per cow of more than $120, and their labor incomes were 75 per cent 

 above the average. 



It is possible to overdo in this direction also, just as it is in the 

 matter of yield per acre, but no farmers were found in this survey 

 who went to too great an expense to get high yield of product per 

 cow. The results of this survey show very clearly that the farmers 

 of Chester County can increase their profits more markedly and 

 more certainly by improving the quality of their cows than in any 

 other way. On farms maintaining large herds this can be done 

 easily enough by using the right kind of bulls. But on the smaller 

 farms this is not always feasible. The right kind of bulls cost so 

 much that the small farmer can not afford them. This difficulty can 

 best be overcome by cooperative ownership of good bulls. Cow- 

 testing associations should be organized, not only as a means of 

 finding which cows are worth keeping and which should be disposed 

 of, but also as a means of providing good breeding stock. With 

 such organizations a good bull can be passed from farm to farm, and 

 thus retained in the neighborhood as long as he is serviceable. 



One difficulty in the past has been the fact that so few farmers 

 raised their cows. In order to maintain herds and keep up their 

 quality, it is necessary to replace yearly an average of about one- 

 fourth of the herd. The number of heifer calves saved annually 

 must, therefore, be about 25 per cent of the number of cows kept. In 

 this locality the farmers raise an average of only 8.2 per cent as 



