﻿COST OF MILK PRODUCTION ON WISCONSIN FARMS. 



13 



no demand for surplus stock, everybody wishing to cut down herds, 

 with no purchasers in sight. The changes in values and in number 

 of cattle are shown for each of the groups of farms in Table 4. 



Table 4. — Changes in values and numbers of cattle on J/S Wisconsin dairy farms 



during 1920. 





Group 

 A. 



Group 

 B. 



Group 



c. 



Group 

 D. 



Group 

 E. 



All 

 farms. 





12 

 9,820 



8 

 6,940 



11 

 6,700 



8 

 6,290 



9 

 5,570 



48 





7. 320 



AVERAGE VALUE OF CATTLE, 1920. 



Cows, Jan. 1 each.. 



Cows, Dec. 31 do 



Cows purchased do 



Cows sold do 



Other cattle, Jan. 1 do 



Other cattle, Dec. 31 do 



Other cattle purchased do 



Other cattle sold do 



Increase in value of other cattle per farm . . 



$192 



$187 



$170 



$95 



$123 



190 



115 



125 



65 



120 



193 



108 



159 



87 



263 



175 



165 



150 



69 



140 



130 



106 



126 



45 



85 



157 



97 



92 



37 



93 



286 



66 



89 



43 



277 



46 



32 



39 



18 



47 



534 



794 



1604 



181 



323 



$165 

 130 

 195 

 150 

 104 

 100 

 208 

 38 



a 493 



NUMBERS OF ANIMALS (GROUP TOTALS), 1920. 



Cows, Jan. 1 



Cows, Dec. 31 



Cows bought 



Cows sold 



Heifers brought in . . 



Cows died.... 



Different cows 



Other cattle, Jan. 1.. 

 Other cattle, Dec. 31 



Purchased 



Born 



Sold 



164 



143 



156 



75 



83 



151 



150 



168 



79 



99 



7 



2 



3 



3 



9 



37 



25 



16 



13 



21 



22 



34 



29 



15 



30 



2 



4 



4 



1 



2 



193 



179 



188 



93 



122 



69 



116 



98 



47 



70 



86 



116 



122 



43 



65 



25 



5 



10 



5 



10 



162 



136 



148 



77 



100 



134 



94 



113 



60 



59 



621 

 650 



24 

 112 

 130 



13 

 775 

 400 

 432 



55 

 623 

 460 



1 Data available for only 10 farms. 



2 Basis is 47 farms. 



The average value of cows of the better herds was practically the 

 same at the end of the year as at the beginning. This would perhaps 

 lead to the conclusion that there had been no depreciation, which was 

 apparently the case in the Sheboygan County herds. In the other 

 groups, however, the young cows did not increase in value to the same 

 extent, the cows sold did not bring so near their inventory valuations, 

 and the valuations at the end of the year were much smaller than at 

 the beginning of the year. In figuring the depreciation, the young 

 cows added to the herd were appraised at 75 per cent of the average 

 value of the cows in the herd at the beginning of the year. The 

 charge to the herd on account of heifers is made in order to separate 

 the milk production enterprise from the cost and returns on account 

 of young stock. The average value of the young cows so added was 

 $339 per farm, or $125 per head, which approximates the cost of 

 raising a 2-year-old heifer of the quality of the average cows in the 

 herds. 



The death risk is rather small, in this case a little more than 2 per 

 cent. There is a further appreciable loss, but variable, due to acci- 

 dents and culling, where the loss is partial, as in the case of cows sold 

 to the butcher or to other dairymen. Even when condemned for 



