20 MILK PRODUCTION COST ACCOUNTS 



its use in the factory, for on the farm the children work with 

 their parents and under conditions that are helpful. The dairy 

 furnishes a good medium for using the children on the farm. 

 It may not, however, be out of place here to say that the 

 dairy farms more than any other are driving the boys to the 

 cities. Poor cows, poor barns, and the milking as extra work 

 discourage boys from remaining on the farm. On the other 

 hand, when good cows are kept, in convenient, comfortable 

 barns and when caring for them is considered a part of the 

 day's work, or better still where the time is spent solely in 

 caring for cows, the work in the dairy is not objectionable to 

 most boys. 



The labor cost does not vary so much on different farms 

 as does the feed cost, assuming that milk of equal quality is 

 produced. The system of management and the number of 

 cows kept are important factors. Where the labor is paid 

 for and used in caring for cows when it could be used other- 

 wise, it costs less for labor to increase the number of cows up 

 to a point where one man would devote all his time to the 

 dairy. There would be less time lost, the man would be 

 better satisfied, and the cattle better cared for. On the other 

 hand, it often develops that when the caring for the cows is 

 done on extra time or by women and children, and when the 

 herd is increased so much that the producer must hire extra 

 labor for the dairy, he often finds the business less profitable. 

 This in a large measure is the reason some dairymen who are 

 producing milk from large herds find it difficult to compete 

 with the smaller producer on a basis of the same grade of 

 milk. Some dairymen succeed with the larger herd by turning 

 to the production of a higher grade of milk, for which they 

 demand a higher price. 



From the standpoint of actual time required per cow and 

 the efficiency of labor, the larger dairy is to be preferred. The 

 man who devotes all his time to the cows can give them better 

 care and lose less time. On dairy farms where men do work 

 in the fields much time is lost in changing from one job to 

 another, and a man can not do as good work in the barn when 

 he also does heavy work in the field. 



