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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



BULLETIN No. 423 



OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY. 



Contribution from the Office of Farm Management, 



W. J. Spillman, Chief. 



■S^^^^U 



Washington, D. C. 



PROFESSIONAL PAPER 



November 25, 1916 



LABOR REQUIREMENTS OF DAIRY FARMS AS 

 INFLUENCED BY MILKING MACHINES. 



By Haeold N. Humpheey, Scientiflc Assistant. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Facts brought out 2 



Sources of data ^ 2 



Areas studied 5 



Labor requirements of dairy farmer- 6 



Size of herd and labor requirements- 7 



The milking machine 10 



Comparative cost of milking by hand 



and by machine 14 



Page. 



Effect on cows 15 



Effect of age of cow on efficiency of 



milking machine 16 



Stage of lactation period 17 



Efficiency of milking combinations 17 



It is the object of this bulletin to present the results of studies 

 of the organization of dairy farms, made with special reference to 

 the economic status of the milking machine. The use of the mechani- 

 cal milker directly affects farm organization through its bearing 

 upon the amount and distribution of labor required by the farms. 

 In general farming labor efficiency is secured by the production of 

 crops in combination with such other farm enterprises as will pro- 

 vide a nearly uniform amount of work throughout the year. There 

 is no constant determining factor as to labor requirements. On the 

 farm which receives the major part of its income from dairy prod- 

 ucts, however, the daii-y alone is generally the determining factor. 

 Any marked saving of labor effected on such a farm must be made 

 in the production or handling of milk, hence the significance of the 

 milking machine as a factor in the organization of the dairy farm. 



The data upon which this bulletin is based were secured from 109 



New York dairy farms, 56 of which were using mechanical milkers, 



and fr-om 100 dairy farms in Oliio, Michigan, and Illinois, of which 



100 were using milking machines. On the New York farms dairying 



Note. — ThlH bulletin In of Interest to dairymen generally,, and especially to those having 

 h<T<lM of over 15 head of cowk. 



;54G9»— Bull. 42.'i— 1( 



