COST OF MILK PRODUCTION ON WISCONSIN FARMS. 15 
BUILDING COST (RENT). 
This item varies from farm to farm (see Table 1), and close exam- 
ination reveals no direct relation between it and the cost of 100 
pounds of milk. The better herds are usually kept in the more pre- 
tentious barns. Many an old barn, however, shelters a first-class 
herd, and many an otherwise profitable herd is rendered unprofitable 
by excessive investment in buildings and equipment. The building 
cost per cow is lowest when the barn is full and production is high; 
for a given farm it is the same regardless of the number of cows kept 
or of their rate of production. Suppose a barn with fixed equipment 
is worth $4,000 in its present condition and will house 15 cows. This 
would indicate a rent of $300 a year at 7-| per cent of valuation, at the 
lowest calculation. If the barn were full of 10,000-pound cows the 
cost per 100 pounds would be 20 cents, while if they were 7,000-pound 
cows the cost would be 28.5 cents ; a reduction from 15 to 10 cows of 
the higher grade would raise the cost to 30 cents per 10 pounds while 
reducing to ten 7,000-pound cows would make it nearly 13 cents. 
Since barns are commonly built to provide for the cattle, horses, 
crop storage, and frequently for hogs and machinery as well, it is 
more bother than most farmers are willing to take to apportion the 
cost of the buildings to the different purposes served, to say nothing 
of a general hesitation about assigning a value which is largely an 
estimate, or observing the actual cost over any extended period of 
time. 
Assuming $2,500 as an average estimated valuation of the share 
of the buildings devoted to the cows and storage of the necessary 
feed, and 7J per cent as a minimum allowance, the rent is $187.50, 
•or 20 cents per 100 pounds of milk for the average herd. 
EQUIPMENT. 
The equipment used in milk production, beyond the items usually 
considered as a part of the barn, is limited in amount. It includes 
pails, cans, strainers, scales, feed carts, a few cream separators, and 
an occasional milking machine. The investment in equipment, ex- 
cepting the milking machines, averages about $50, on the farms 
studied, and entails an annual expense of about $12 replacements, 
which, together with the interest, warrants an allowance of 1J cents 
per 100 pounds of milk. 
GENERAL EXPENSE. 
The reports on this item were not complete in all respects, but 
judging from those which were complete, an allowance of 5 J cents 
per 100 pounds, or about $50 per farm for the year would be neces- 
sary to meet general expenses not provided for otherwise. 
PRODUCTION AND PRICES. 
Cows naturally produce more milk in summer than in winter, 
but milk and dairy products are wanted all through the year in 
about the same quantities. This creates the deficit and surplus prob- 
lem, so vexing to manufacturers and distributors, and is reflected 
in the prices paid. Winter milk is at a premium, and summer milk 
returns a price determined by the quantity offered and the specu- 
