A STUDY IN THE COST OF PRODUCING MILK. 
25 
farm is hired primarily for the production of crops, and the use of 
this labor in the care of live stock supplements the crop labor, making 
it seem equally logical to charge crops at a high rate and the live stock 
at a low rate per hour. But no distinction of this kind has been made 
in this bulletin. 
The cost of caring for the dairy cow on the more general farm is 
low. Extra workmen are seldom hired for this purpose. During 
the crop-growing season the cows are cared for in addition to the 
regular day's work in the field. Quite often the women and children 
do the milking, especially at times when crop work is heavy and the 
men are required to work late. Again, during the winter months 
there is little or no productive field work, and the dairy cows furnish 
DAI ry cows 
OTHER 
LIVE STOCK 
CROPS AND OTHER WORK 
MAN LABOR PER MONTH -HOURS 
HUNDREDS 
Yig. 6.— Distribution of man labor by months on the dairy enterprise as compared with the hours used 
by other live stock and that available for growing crops and other work on the Wisconsin farm, 1911. 
employment for labor that would otherwise be idle. As a result of 
these conditions the actual cash outlay for labor is frequently no 
greater with a few cows on the farm than it would be without them. 
On these general farms, the same principle which is true for the feed 
is also true for labor; that is, it is not a question of getting 15 or 20 
cents per hour for this labor, but of getting something, and in so 
doing increase the income of the farm business. 
Figure 6 is a chart showing for the Wisconsin farm in 1911 the 
distribution of man labor by months on the dairy enterprise, as com- 
pared with the hours devoted to the care of other live stock and those 
devoted to growing crops and to other necessary work. This shows 
that the most labor on the dairy comes during the period from Octo- 
ber to April. The system of winter dairying practiced on this Tarm 
