A STUDY IN THE COST OF PRODUCING MILK. 
NORTH CAROLINA FARM. 
Table VI gives a summary of the quantities and cost of feed con- 
sumed per cow by the North Carolina farm herd, 1908-1914, inclusive. 
Owing to a marked change in the method of feeding in 1914, when 
the cows were stall-fed most of the year, the figures for this year 
were omitted in making a representative yearly average for the 
farm. The kinds of feed available on this farm, owing to its loca- 
tion, are distinctly different from those on the three northern farms. 
The basis of the concentrates used in the ration was cottonseed meal 
supplemented with dried beet pulp. Small quantities of gluten 
feed, bran, corn meal, and patent feeds were also used. The con- 
centrates were mixed and apportioned to the cows on the basis of 
individual production, and the quantity fed per cow increased from 
year to year. A large portion of the dry roughage was cottonseed 
hulls, which were purchased locally at about $6 per ton. Other 
roughage consisted of home-grown hay, made from peanut vines, 
soy beans, cowpeas, and mixed grasses and clover. Beginning in 
1909, the addition of silage to the ration resulted in a reduction of 
both concentrates and dry roughage. However, each succeeding 
year a larger quantity of concentrates was fed, while the dry rough- 
age remained about constant, except for 1914, when the cows 
depended less on pasture. 
Table VI. — Annual quantity of feed and its cost per cow on the North Carolina farm. 
Year. 
Concentrates. 
Dry roughage. 
Silage. 
Soiling 
crops. 
Pas- 
ture 
value. 
Total 
feed 
cost. 
Quantity. 
Value. 
Quantity. 
Value. 
Quantity. 
Value. 
1908 
Pounds. 
1,957 
1,627 
2,137 
2,616 
2,740 
2,843 
3,107 
$28. 06 
23.36 
32.37 
40.40 
36.12 
41.60 
45.04 
Pounds. 
6,261 
4,566 
3,793 
3,771 
3,781 
3, 613 
5,298 
$21. 07 
13.69 
14.33 
12.91 
9.78 
12.08 
16.57 
Pounds. 
Value. 
$4.05 
3.88 
4.41 
3.02 
3.50 
3.76 
1.36 
$53. 18 
1909.. 
5,268 
2,712 
6,800 
3,013 
5,407 
6,223 
$13. 18 
6.78 
17.00 
7.53 
13.53 
15.56 
"$3." 67* 
""3." 27" 
"*6."9o" 
54 11 
1910 
61 56 
1911 
73 33 
1912 
60 20 
1913 
70 97 
1914 
85.48 
Average, 6 years J . . 
2,320 
33.65 
4,298 
13.98 
3,867 
9.67 
1.16 
3.77 
62.62 
1 1914 not included in average. 
During three summers soiling crops were used to supplement 
silage. The increased total quantity of feed consumed each suc- 
ceeding year is reflected in an upward trend in the total cost of feed 
per cow for the period. Variation in the price per ton of corn-and- 
cob meal is reflected in the total cost of feed. From 1908 to 1914 
the prices per ton paid for this meal, bought in large quantities, 
were, by years, $28.55, $28.54, $30.07, $31.04, $25, $26.50, $27, and 
$22, the average per year for the period being $28.13. The price of 
beet pulp ranged from $29.30 to $32, with an average of $30.57. The 
price per ton of the feeding mixture varied from $26.36 to $30.89, 
68922°— Bull. 501—17 2 
