﻿COST OF MILK PRODUCTION ON WISCONSIN FARMS. 15 



BUILDING COST (RENT). 



This item varies from farm to farm (see Table 1), and close exam- 

 ination reveals no direct relation between it and fche cost oi' LOO 

 pounds of milk. The better herds arc usually kept in the more pre- 

 tentions barns. Many an old barn, however, shelters a first-class 

 herd, and many an otherwise profitable herd is rendered unprofitable 

 by excessive investment in buildings and equipment. The building 

 cost per cow is lowest when the barn is full and production is high; 

 for a given farm it is the same regardless of the number of cows kept 

 or of their rate of production. Suppose a barn with fixed equipment 

 is worth $4,000 in its present condition and will house 15 cows. This 

 would indicate a rent of $300 a year at 7-J per cent of valuation, at the 

 lowest calculation. If the barn were full of 10,000-pound cows the 

 cost per 100 pounds would be 20 cents, while if they were 7,000-pound 

 cows the cost would be 28.5 cents ; a reduction from 15 to 10 cows of 

 the higher grade would raise the cost to 30 cents per 10 pounds while 

 reducing to ten 7,000-pound cows would make it nearly 43 cents. 



Since barns are commonly built to provide for the cattle, horses, 

 crop storage, and frequently for hogs and machinery as well, it is 

 more bother than most farmers are willing to take to apportion the 

 cost of the buildings to the different purposes served, to say nothing 

 of a general hesitation about assigning a value which is largely an 

 estimate, or observing the actual cost over any extended period of 

 time. 



Assuming $2,500 as an average estimated valuation of the share 

 of the buildings devoted to the cows and storage of the necessary 

 feed, and 7| per cent as a minimum allowance, the rent is $187.50, 

 or 20 cents per 100 pounds of milk for the average herd. 



EQUIPMENT. 



The equipment used in milk production, beyond the items usually 

 considered as a part of the barn, is limited in amount. It includes 

 pails, cans, strainers, scales, feed carts, a few cream separators, and 

 an occasional milking machine. The investment in equipment, ex- 

 cepting the milking machines, averages about $50, on the farms 

 studied, and entails an annual expense of about $12 replacements, 

 which, together with the interest, warrants an allowance of 1^ cents 

 per 100 pounds of milk. 



GENERAL EXPENSE. 



The reports on this item were not complete in all respects, but 

 judging from those which were complete, an allowance of 5i cents 

 per 100 pounds, or about $50 per farm for the year would be neces- 

 sary to meet general expenses not provided for otherwise. 



PRODUCTION AND PRICES. 



Cows naturally produce more milk in summer than in winter, 

 but milk and dairy products are wanted all through the year in 

 about the same quantities. This creates the deficit and surplus prob- 

 lem, so vexing to manufacturers and distributors, and is reflected 

 in the prices paid. Winter milk is at a premium, and summer milk 

 returns a price determined by the quantity offered and the specu- 



