THE COST OF LABOR 23 



A man can do the work in the barn where there are 20 to 

 25 cows, but when one man performs all the difEerent opera- 

 tions he can not do them in the time stated. The above table 

 does not provide for the time required to care for the milk and 

 utensils. Where a system of soiling is followed, fewer cows 

 still could be attended by one man. Under conditions where 

 20 or more cows are kept and where pasture is used for several 

 months a figure of 180 hours per cow will be required. With 

 ordinary care this figure may be reduced considerably. This 

 accounts for the full time of a man 365 days at 10 hours per 

 day for 20 cows. Time of course must be deducted for vaca- 

 tion and holidays, but this is compensated for by the decrease 

 in labor when the cows are dry or when on pasture. It is 

 therefore a fair and practical procedure to calculate the cost 

 of labor on a basis of 20 cows per man, or to pre-calculate 

 labor cost by dividing the cost of one dairyman per year by 

 20 to get the cost per cow. At a price of $45 per month, 

 without board, the cost per cow is $27. 



The cost of labor varies widely in different sections and also 

 with the seasons, but the dairy furnishes employment fairly 

 constantly for the men throughout the year. The study of 

 labor cost is also desirable to show the returns for labor per- 

 formed by members of the family when they are employed in 

 the dairy. 



The milking machine is being used to a considerable extent 

 in some sections in an attempt to solve the labor problem. 

 With 20 or more cows the machine will likely come into more 

 general use. There is not, however, at the present time any 

 accurate record covering long periods where actual time records 

 show a decrease in cost due to the use of machines. It has 

 been shown in experiments by the author and others that the 

 machine in the hands of a careful man will mUk a cow well and 

 apparently has no injurious effect upon the cow. It has also 

 been shown that with especial care milk with low bacteria 

 content can be produced with the machine. 



