THE COST OF RAISING A DAIRY COW. 
9 
this they are fed grain, and later when all are through eating they 
are released. As the hay storage space is not large enough in this 
barn for the yearly supply for the calves, toward the latter part of 
the winter it is necessary to replenish the supply from stacks in the 
field. Horses are used for work of this kind. The large amount of 
labor in March is due to hay hauling and the getting of the yearly 
fuel supply for heating the milk. 
Table IV. — Average number of hours of man and horse labor per calf and its 
cost for the first year for an average of 20. 42 head of calves. 
Average 
number 
fed. 
Man labor. 
Horse 
labor. 
Total 
cost.' 
Year and month. 
Per 
month. 
Per day. 
1909. 
6.3 
18 
22 
23 
23 
23 
23 
23 
23 
20.7 
20 
20 
Hours. 
6.5 
3.3 
4.4 
4.2 
4.3 
3.8 
6.2 
4.3 
3.9 
.3 
Minutes. 
13 
6 
9 
8 
8 
8 
12 
9 
8 
1 
Hours. 
$0.78 
October 
0.04 
.16 
.40 
November 
.54 
December 
.50 
1910. 
January 
.25 
.48 
2.00 
.07 
.11 
.54 
February 
.51 
March 
.94 
April 
.52 
May 
.48 
June .. „.. 
.03 
July 
August 
Yearly total per head 
39.90 
3.50 
5.14 
1 Rates per hour: Man labor, 12 cents; horse labor, 10 cents. 
The total amount of time required per head for the year is about 
40 hours of man labor, which is about 8 minutes per day for the 9 
full months in the barn. Only 3.5 hours of horse labor were required. 
This requirement is a variable quantity and makes only a small part 
of the total labor cost of $5.14 for the year. Barring the first month, 
when the young calves need extra attention, the labor cost for ordi- 
nary care is quite uniform for the different months of the period 
they are in the barn. When on pasture no labor is required, but 
the calves are daily under the observation of the herdsman as he 
cares for the herd and special attention would be given them if 
needed. 
The first and second months stand out as the most expensive period 
of the year, for then the calves are dependent largely on milk and 
require extra attention. The combined cost for feed and labor dur- 
ing these two months amounts to 32.5 per cent of the yearly cost, 
which is $29.72. 
QUANTITY OF FEED CONSUMED DURING THE SECOND YEAR. 
Beginning the second year the heifers are on pasture until about 
November 1. They are then given the run of a small yard and open 
72268°— Bull. 49—14 2 
