12 



BULLETIN 858, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The higher credit allowed for manure in the winter tended to 

 equalize the net cost for the winter and summer periods. The values 

 per pound at which the fertilizing constituents in the manure and 

 used bedding were credited to the cows the first year were 18 cents 

 for nitrogen, 4J cents for phosphoric acid, and 5 cents for potash, as 

 compared with 25 cents, 6 cents, and 6f cents a pound for the same 

 constituents during the second year. The value of a ton of manure 

 the first year was found to be $2.38 as compared with $3.29 for the 

 second year. 



Table 8. — Cost of keeping a cow during four seasons, charge for management not included. 



Item. 



1915-16. 



1916-17. 



Winter. 



Summer. 



Winter. 



Summer. 





$39. 10 



$16. 21 

 11.82 



$46. 78 



$23.41 





9.16 





1.05 

 13.29 

 14.11 



1.56 

 14.30 

 12.23 







10.73 



13.88 



11.40 



Overhead and other costs, except herd inventory variation 



11.92 





07.55 



52.64 



74.87 

 1.98 



55.89 





1 99 





3.71 



3.75 













71. 20 



56. 39 



72. 89 



53.90 









3.77 



13.52 



.70 



3.81 

 1.75 

 .45 



4.90 



19.02 



.96 



4.93 





2.50 





.54 









17.99 

 53.27 



6.01 

 50.38 



24. SS 

 4S.01 



7.97 





45.93 







COST OF PRODUCTION BY HERDS AND BY SEASONS. 



The varying net costs of producing 100 pounds of milk, the average 

 number of cows and the average production of milk per cow are shown 

 for each herd during the two seasons of each year in figures 1 and 2. It 

 will be noted that although there is a tendency toward lower cost of 

 production for the higher-producing herds this rule does not always 

 apply. In some cases the other factors of cost outweigh the influ- 

 ence of high production, or, again, the high production may have 

 been obtained at too great an expense. 



This may have been caused by feeding the cows beyond their 

 ability to produce economically. For example, in the winter of 

 1916-17 Herd 127 with a 6-months' production of only 2,506 pounds 

 per cow, produced milk at $1.04 per 100 pounds while it cost $1.50 

 to produce 100 pounds from Herd 125, in which the cows made an 

 average winter production of 5,062 pounds of milk. The low cost in 

 Herd 127 was made possible by a low overhead due to small invest- 

 ment in buildings and cows and a low feed cost, while Herd 125 

 showed high overhead costs, due to expensive buildings and cattle and 

 a high feed cost, due to exceptionally heavy feeding. But to obtain 

 the income on an equal volume of milk it would have been necessary 

 for the owner of Herd 127 to keep two cows for every cow kept hi 

 Herd 125. 



