THE COST OF CATTLE 29 



with other cost records. Truman ^ figured the total cost of a 

 two-year-old heifer to be $70, but he added $4 as the initial 

 value of the animal, while Lindsey ^ found the cost under con- 

 ditions of higher cost of feeds and with an initial charge of 

 $4 to be $74.24. 



An^jinitial charge for the calf should not be included, for 

 there is no actual cost. The calves would be produced even 

 if it were necessary to slaughter them at once. When a cost 

 price for the calves is not allowed, the cost price of milk is 

 more nearly accurate. With male calves not needed to main- 

 tain the herd, instead of a charge the calf represents a credit. 

 The amount of credit to the herd for calves is discussed in a 

 later chapter. 



With the heifer coming into the herd at a cost of $65, it 

 must next be determined how long she will likely be in the 

 herd as a profitable producer of milk and how much she will 

 be worth at the end of her period of profitableness as a milk 

 producer. The amount of depreciation per year will depend 

 upon the number of years the cow is profitable, and is the 

 difference between the cost of the cow at entry into the herd 

 and her sale price as beef. A high-cost cow depreciates more 

 than a cheaper one, for both are worth about the same when 

 sold for beef. Often the less expensive cow sells for more on 

 account of her more beefy conformation. The length of use- 

 fulness of cows varies, but on the average the economic life 

 of a dairy cow is much shorter than is generally believed, and 

 is a large item of expense, especially where high-cost animals 

 are kept. Various estimates have been made of the length of 

 time a cow should remain in the herd. The average life of a 

 cow according to Rasmussen ^ is about 6 years. According 

 to actual records by Thompson * in herds of Delaware County, 

 New York, changes in cows were made which indicated that 

 the average productive life of a dairy cow was only 3.6 years, 

 while in a survey of opinions of 174 farmers in the same county 



' Mass. Agr. Exp. Sta., Amherst, Bull. No. 164, p. 70. 



2 Storrs, Conn. Exp. Sta., Bull. No. 63. 



2 New Hampshire Exp. Sta., Ext., Bull. No. 2, p. 12. 



* New York Agr. Exp. Sta. (Cornell), Bull. No. 364, pp. 130-131. 



