CHAPTER IX 



CREDIT FOR CALVES AND MANURE 



It is difficult to determine an average credit for calves, as 

 they range in value from almost nothing to $50 or more when 

 born. The calves that can be sold for the high prices, of 

 course, add an expense to production, namely, the cost of 

 phenomenal breeding stock with very highly bred, high pro- 

 ducers. The added expense of caring for such animals, the 

 expense of advertising and selling, and the great increase in 

 depreciation and risk must all be included when the larger 

 credit for calves is allowed. It is assumed for present pur- 

 poses that the primary business is the production of rmlk. 

 From an ordinary milk herd the calves usually are sold as 

 veal. The number of calves to be credited to the herd each 

 year will not exceed four-fifths of the number of mUch cows, 

 and when failures to breed, accidents, and deaths of calves 

 are considered, the number to be disposed of will not average 

 more than three-fourths of the number of cows in the herd. 

 Some calves must be kept to replace the cows, which, it has 

 been estimated, must be replaced on the average every fifth 

 year. This gives a credit per cow of three-fourths of the price 

 at which calves are worth in initial cost. The one-fourth is 

 not credited to the cows, for no charge is made as the initial 

 cost of the calves raised. When all the calves are credited to 

 the cows, the initial cost must be included in the calculation 

 of cost of cows. 



The price at which a dairy calf can be sold when the milk 

 of a cow becomes normal, usually in three or four days, is in 

 most instances very small. For veal, a large calf when fed 

 and marketed at best advantage may bring a price that will 

 warrant the expenditure of $5 to $6 and in exceptional cases a 

 little more for raising, but many calves do not pay for the 



