UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
BULLETIN No. 423 
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY. 
Contribution from the Office of Farm Management, 
W. J. Spillman, Chief. 
JiW^Jl. 
Washington, D. C. 
PROFESSIONAL PAPER 
November 25, 1916 
LABOR REQUIREMENTS OF DAIRY FARMS AS 
INFLUENCED BY MILKING MACHINES. 
By Hakold N. Humphrey, Scientific Assistant. 
CONTENTS. 
Page. 
Facts brought out 2 
Sources of data 2 
Areas studied 5 
Labor requirements of dairy farmer. 6 
Size of herd and labor requirements- 7 
The milking machine 10 
Comparative cost of milking by hand 
and by machine 14 
Page. 
Effect on cows : 15 
Effect of age of cow on efficiency of 
milking machine 16 
Stage of lactation period 17 
Efficiency of milking combinations 17 
It is the object of this bulletin to present the results of studies 
of the organization of dairy farms, made with special reference to 
the economic status of the milking machine. The use 'of the mechani- 
cal milker directly affects farm organization through its bearing 
upon the amount and distribution of labor required by the farms. 
In general farming labor efficiency is secured by the production of 
crops in ombination with such other farm enterprises as will pro- 
vide a nearly uniform amount of work throughout the year. There 
is no constant determining factor as to labor requirements. On the 
farm which receives the major part of its income from dairy prod- 
ucts, however, the dairy alone is generally the determining factor. 
Any marked saving of labor effected on such a farm must be made 
in the production or handling of milk, hence the significance of the 
milking machine as a factor in the organization of the dairy farm. 
The data upon which this bulletin is based were secured from 109 
New York dairy farms, 56 of which were using mechanical milkers, 
and from 160 dairy farms in Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois, of which 
100 were using milking machines. On the New York farms dairying 
Note. — This bulletin is of interest to dairymen generally, and especially to those having 
herds of over 15 head of cows. 
55469°— Bull. 423—16- 
