2 MILK PRODUCTION COST ACCOUNTS 



at prices at which they could be disposed of and the labor 

 is actual extra labor that must be paid for, it would of course 

 prove that profits are derived from the farm rather than from 

 the herd. This should prompt the dairyman to be more care- 

 ful in his cost estimates and endeavor to learn where his vari- 

 ous items of cost are higher than they should be, or higher 

 than formerly, and to look for a remedy. It may be that a 

 different ration would be less expensive, perhaps fewer or more 

 cows should be kept or perhaps the cows are poor producers. 

 The cows may be kept on too expensive pasture, or not pas- 

 tured enough; perhaps the farmer could buy cows cheaper 

 than he can raise them, perhaps he keeps calves too long or 

 he may be vealing calves at a loss. AVhere the feed prices are 

 figured on a basis of sale or market price or the price at which 

 they could be purchased in the community, it may be found 

 that it would be more profitable to market the crops in the 

 raw state instead of through the dairy. Labor also in some 

 localities makes it unprofitable to produce milk. Again, many 

 dairies are over-capitalized. 



These are only suggestions of some of the factors which 

 may not be known unless cost accounts are kept. The effi- 

 ciency of individual cows is, of course, of great importance; 

 cows of the same size require about the same feed for main- 

 tenance,* so that a cow that produces 6,000 pounds of milk 

 annually produces it more cheaply per pound than a cow of 

 equal weight that produces 3,000 pounds. 



The production cost will be discussed under three main di- 

 visions, the feed expense, expense for labor, and indirect expense, 

 the "overhead," or indirect expense being further subdivided. 

 The following outline indicates the method of treatment: 



1. Feed. 



2. Labor. 



3. Indirect expense, or overhead. 



a. Buildings. 

 h. Cattle. 

 c. Bedding. 



1 "A Study of the Cause of Wide Variation in Milk Production by Dairy 

 Cows," Ekles, University of Missouri, Research Bulletin No. 2, p. 146. 



