30 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



Cost to Keeo a Cow. 



What does it cost to keep a cow? I have it on a chart 

 here. I have the feed cost for a year, and bear in mind, this is 

 not from one individual herd, but estimated the average of 540 

 cows. The average cost was $59.42 for one year. The labor 

 was $24.00 per cow for a year. Some of you gentlemen might 

 say: "It don't cost me that much. My wife milks the cows." 

 If I should have my wife milk the cows, I would charge $48.00 

 The cow is worth $50.00. I don't know what your cows are 

 worth here. In eastern Indiana, and Ohio and Pennsylvania 

 the cows sell at the present time for about $60.00. Some put 

 it at $50.00 and 6 per cent interest makes $3.00. She deterior- 

 ates with age. If you buy a cow and milk her until she is 13 or 

 12 years of age, she wouldn't be worth $50.00. That was 

 figured on each cow $2.50 a year. Death of cows by disease or 

 accident, $1.50 a year. That is over a period of years and ap- 

 portioned on each cow ! . I don't know if you gentlemen are re- 

 quired to comply with the sanitary regulations but this is a very 

 conservative estimate, $3.00 for a cow for cow barns. The bull 

 service is $2.00. The general maintenance expense, $2.50, esti- 

 mating accident, insurance, repairs, painting your barns, your 

 dairy houses, everything of that kind is included in this particu- 

 lar item, $2.50. Hauling of cream, $2.16; straw for bedding 

 cows, $8.00 a ton in Columbus. I don't know what you would 

 estimate your straw here, but I figured to estimate it about a dol- 

 lar a ton and that is $2.00, making a total cost of $102.33, as the 

 cost of the cow for one year. You might say that is a big price ; 

 but what are the returns from a dairy cow ? Prof. Thorn of the 

 Experiment Station of Worcester, made a series of experiments 

 and estimated that with 35 cents as the price of phosphate slack, 

 manure was worth $4.50 a ton. Around Columbus it goes for 

 $14.00 a ton. Let us not estimate at these high figures. We 

 will put it down to where the farmer has it, $2.75 a ton. We 

 have here for the first item, $27.50; 20000 pounds manure a 

 year, consequently about $25.00. Skim milk, 30 cents a 100. 



