THIRTY-FIFTH ANNUAL CONVENTION. 337 



(line 21) and the profit of skim milk, calf and manure over the 

 cost of labor, housing, depreciation, etc., (line 17.) This gives 

 the final account of where the cow stands with the dairyman, and 

 is shown by the figures in line 22. This last line of figures 

 shows clearly the great folly and waste of time and labor in keep- 

 ing poor producers, and, in striking contrast to this, the profit 

 derived from keeping good producers. 



Table 1 may safely be used as an index to the profits, be- 

 cause under existing conditions nearly all herds contain individ- 

 ual cows of vastly different production. On the majority of 

 dairy farms in the extensive dairy region of Illinois, all cows in 

 milk are fed practically alike as to grain, regardless of their pro- 

 duction, and their being in the same herd, the cost of all items for 

 the different cows will be nearly the same. Under these condi- 

 tions the actual difference in profit between the good and poor 

 cows will be even greater than the table indicates. 



These figures are based upon definite data worked out at 

 the Experiment Station, but the results will fluctuate slightly, 

 according to the way the herds are fed. The price of feed varies 

 in different years, but as a rule the price of the product varies 

 with the feed, so that this fluctuation is small. When a dairyman 

 uses this table, the question is not whether the results obtained are 

 absolutely correct to a few cents, as it makes no special difference 

 to a farmer whether a cow brought in a profit of $10 or $10.50, 

 but it does make an enormous difference whether she lost him 

 $5, or made him $20, as may be easily done by ordinary cows pro- 

 ducing within the range of many cows in the average herd. 



Economic conditions are not the same in different parts of 

 the country, and while this table is made to apply especially to the 

 Central West, it should be found applicable to the entire coun- 

 try. In the eastern part of the United States, feed is higher, and 

 it will cost more to keep a cow a year than in the Central West, 

 but the value of the product is also greater, while in the West the 

 cost of keep will be less than in Illinois, but the receipts for the 

 product will also be less. For these reasons the application of 

 the table should be a good guide in any part of the country, and 



