CHAPTER III 



THE COST OF LABOR 



Labor, although not the largest item of cost, is of consid- 

 erable importance in dairy herd management. It is of peculiar 

 interest because of its various phases and effects upon the 

 dairy industry. Some dairymen claim to have been driven 

 out of the business because of the difiSculty of getting men to 

 work on farms where cows are kept, while others continue in 

 the business because it furnishes employment to regular help 

 at times when the men could not be used otherwise, although 

 it may not pay in full for the labor. 



There is difi&culty in securing good labor on dairy farms 

 when the men are expected to milk a few cows before break- 

 fast, then do a day's work in the field, and return to milk 

 the cows again in the evening. Where the milking is consid- 

 ered an essential part of the day's work there is no more diflS- 

 culty in getting good men on a dairy farm than on any other 

 kind of farm. On large dairy farms where the hours are defi- 

 nite and the work is regular, practically no trouble is found 

 in getting and keeping good men. On the small farms the 

 labor is performed with no extra cost and in addition to the 

 work in the field. When cost records on these farms show that 

 the milk is produced at a loss, it simply means that labor is 

 performed at a lower wage than the figure used in the cost 

 account. Often, however, the farmer is willing to do the work 

 for the increase in income, although it is less than a good 

 wage. Also the women and children do the milking and care 

 for the cows in some cases; on some farms the children are 

 home from school and can help with the dairying during the 

 busy season. Women and children usually are better milkers 

 than men, because their hands and muscles are not so hard. 

 The use of child labor on the farm is not to be compared with 



