THE COST OP KAISING A DAIRY COW. 
21 
FEED PRICES. 
The feed costs given in all the foregoing tables are based on the 
current monthly feed prices, in order to eliminate any errors that 
might result from wide fluctuations in prices during a year. How- 
ever, for purposes of comparison yearly feed prices are shown in 
Table XIV for the period covered by the records on the different 
groups presented in the previous tables : 
Table XIV. — Average yearly feed prices per ton at the Brigham farm from 
Sept. 1, 1908, to Aug. 31, 1912. 
Feeds. 
1908-9 
1909-10 
1910-11 
1911-12 
$30.70 
4.00 
25.26 
25.00 
$30.56 
4.00 
/ 22.00 
\ 22.08 
$32.00 
4.00 
} 21.54 
22.54 
\ 
$29. 26 
4.00 
Grain: 
j 24.90 
\ 25.00 
30.00 
J 
25.30 
/ 41.00 
\ 39.60 
35.00 
} 40.00 
27.40 
Roughage: 
8.00 
8.00 
12.00 
8.00 
12.00 
4.32 
} 4.00 
10.00 
Alfalfa 
15.00 
4.00 
4.00 
Silage r 
/ 3.88 
\ 3.97 
3.69 
.43 
.50 
4.00 
Pasture: l 
.40 
.50 
.50 
.64 
.50 
Second year 
.75 
Average price per head per month. 
The yearly prices are obtained by dividing the total quantity of feed 
consumed during the year by the total cost. The prices of feeds 
did not change materially during the four years. However, two 
slightly different yearly prices must be considered in determining the 
feed costs shown in Table XIII by any one group of heifers. The 
hay prices were advanced the last year, and silage was increased when 
the cost of growing it was found to be not less than $4 per ton. The 
grain prices represent normal variations. The lower prices for bran 
were due to purchases in carload lots. The price of pasture was 
increased to correspond with the rise in the prices of other feeds. 
Considering that feed makes up practically two-thirds of the total 
cost of growing a heifer (Table XIII), it is apparent that a general 
increase or decrease in prices would materially affect the total cost. 
An increase of 10 per cent in the price of feeds would add approxi- 
mately $4 to the cost of the heifer. This factor alone will cause 
a wide variation in the cost of growing heifers in different sections 
of the country, owing to the widely varying prices of the principal 
farm feeds. 
