﻿COST OF MILK PRODUCTION ON WISCONSIN FARMS. 7 



the bars shows the net energy values -of the feed supplied in the 

 respective cases, including the allowance for pasture as above noted. 

 The solid part of the bars shows the net energy attributed to pasture. 



The higher-producing cows are unusally larger tHan I he lower- 

 producing cows, and require more for maintenance, but the difference 

 is not very great; in fact, some high-producing cows may be smaller 

 than their lower-producing sisters. The total net energy require- 

 ments increase more rapidly after maintenance is provided: 

 the requirements for production increase uniformly with increase in 

 milk yield of the same quality; milk rich in butter fat, however, re- 

 quires a higher rate per pound of milk than low test milk. (The net 

 energy requirements for milk production is given by Armsby as 0.3 

 therm for each pound of 4 per cent milk. The revised standard for 

 ■Iper cent milk is given as 0.265 therm per pound of milk, which is 

 10 per cent less than the figure used in these computations as noted 

 above. Similar reductions are given for milk of other butter fat 

 tests.) 



The comparative economy of high-producing cows in a dairy 

 enterprise is widely recognized. In this regard, tests conducted 

 under comparable conditions, as in cow-testing association work, are 

 conclusive. Considering the whole farm business, however, under 

 different conditions, the case is not so clear, complicated as it is 

 by varying prices and amount of feeds. The feeds consumed per 100 

 pounds of milk are shown in Table 1, together with the number of 

 therms of net energy reported fed, including the allowance for pas- 

 ture. The unit requirements shown in the table can hardly be used 

 for single months or shorter periods, as they vary widely through- 

 out the year according to practice and production, each of the items 

 ranging from nothing up to a high figure per 100 pounds. Their 

 unit requirements will nevertheless apply reasonbly well to different 

 years because feeding habits do not change rapidly. 



While the higher-producing cows consume the larger quantities 

 of feed, particularly of grain, the difference is not so great when re- 

 duced to a unit basis, as is indicated in the case of grain in Figure 2, 

 showing the average annual production of each of the herds and the 

 number of pounds of grain fed per 100 pounds of milk produced. 



The problem of feeds is presented in this detail to develop the 

 method of calculating the feed equivalent of pasture, and to re- 

 iterate the advantage of adequate feeding of cows. Within the 

 limits observed on these farms and up to the point where cows begin 

 to show marked evidence of putting on flesh, production seems to 

 increase with the quantities of feed supplied, financially as well 

 as physiologically. 



The prices used in figuring the cost of feed in 1920 were as fol- 

 lows : 



Grain, $60 per ton; hay, $25; silage, $10: fodder, $15. and pasture 

 $15 per cow for the season, with local variations. 2 At these rates the 

 feed cost of milk was $2.02 per 100 pounds. These were the prices 

 most commonly named, and they represent market values at the farm 

 rather than actual cost. The actual cost of growing the crop is diffi- 

 cult to work out from data ordinarily available. Moreover, the 



2 For the Marathon group (Group B) the price of grain was $75 a ton and of pasture 

 $9 a head for the season. 



