44 BULLETIN" 1296, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE 
REASONS FOR VARIATIONS IN FEED REQUIREMENTS 
Feeding practices on the farms in this area are greatly influenced 
by the amount of feed produced from year to year. Following low 
yields of feed crops, the feed consumed per livestock unit is much less 
than during periods of high production of feed crops. Consequently 
one of the most important causes for variation in the quantity of feed 
used per unit on different farms is the difference from farm to farm, in 
the available feed. On practically all the farms the cattle have free 
access to straw at all times when not on pasture. If feed other than 
wheat straw is scarce, the straw is depended upon to make up any 
deficiency in the amount of the ration. As feed becomes more 
abundant, more is fed and the cattle of their own accord reduce the 
quantity of straw consumed. On those farms where no grain was 
fed, straw constituted a large part of the feed consumed by the cattle. 
Good use of pasture is also made on such farms. 
In general the farms emphasizing the production of butterfat feed 
the larger quantities of grain. On farm 16 the cattle are kept 
primarily for dairy purposes and high production per cow is main- 
tained by heavy feeding of grain. Farms 1 and 4 are high on feed 
requirements. The cattle on these farms were full fed a short time 
and then sold. The heavy feeding during the short time that they 
were on the farms resulted in a higher figure on the livestock unit 
basis than if the feed had been fed over a longer period. In general, 
those farms with the higher production used more feed. 
REASONS FOR VARIATIONS IN PRODUCTION 
It will be noted that farms 8, 5, and 4 were highest in pounds of 
beef produced per livestock unit. They were primarily beef herds. 
Only a small percentage of the herd was used for milk production, 
leaving the greater proportion of the feed to produce beef. Although 
farm 5 is low on grain and roughage, it makes excellent use of pasture. 
The cattle on farm 1 are also primarily a beef herd, but a larger 
proportion of the feed is fed to older cattle on which the grain per 
livestock unit is less. 
Farm 16 is high in both beef and butterfat. Both grain and 
roughage requirements were above the average, and in addition 
silage and pasture were used. This is a high-grade dairy herd. 
VETERINARY SERVICES AND MEDICINE COSTS 
The expenses for veterinary services and medicine on these farms 
were very light. The expenses on farm 16 was mostly for testing 
the herd for tuberculosis. 
REASONS FOR VARIATIONS IN LABOR REQUIREMENTS 
Table 24 shows the chore and special labor on the livestock unit 
basis and also the chore and special labor per milk cow. The chore 
labor includes milking, feeding, and similar tasks which are neces- 
sarily performed daily. The special labor includes hauling feeds, 
shifting cattle from one pasture to another, and such other tasks as 
occur at irregular intervals. In general, the amount of labor decreases 
as the number in the herd increases. However, the labor demand 
tends to be higher as the percentage of dairy cows increases. Where 
there are only one or two cows the variation is due largely to the 
personal differences of farmers. 
