COST OF MILK PRODUCTION ON WISCONSIN FARMS. 7 
the bars shows the net energy values of the feed supplied in the 
respective cases, including the allowance for pasture as above noted. 
The solid part of the bars shows the net energy attributed to pasture. 
The higher-producing cows are unusally larger than the lower- 
producing cows, and require more for maintenance, but the difference 
is not very great ; in fact, some high-producing cows may be smaller 
than their lower-producing sisters. The total net energy require- 
ments increase more rapidly after maintenance is provided; 
the requirements for production increase uniformly with increase in 
milk yield of the same qualhyy ; milk rich in butter fat, however, re- 
quires a higher rate per pound of milk than low test milk. (The net 
energy requirements for milk production is given by Armsby as 0.3 
therm for each pound of 4 per cent milk. The revised standard for 
4 per cent milk is given as 0.265 therm per pound of milk, which is 
10 per cent less than the figure used in these computations as noted 
above. Similar reductions are given for milk of other butter fat 
tests.) 
The comparative economy of high-producing cows in a dairy 
enterprise is widely recognized. In this regard, tests conducted 
under comparable conditions, as in cow-testing association work, are 
conclusive. Considering the whole farm business, however, under 
different conditions, the case is not so clear, complicated as it is 
by varying prices and amount of feeds. The feeds consumed per 100 
pounds of milk are shown in Table 1, together with the number of 
therms of net energy reported fed, including the allowance for pas- 
ture. The unit requirements shown in the table can hardly be used 
for single months or shorter periods, as they vary widely through- 
out the year according to practice and production, each of the items 
ranging from nothing up to a high figure per 100 pounds. Their 
unit requirements will nevertheless apply reasonbly well to different 
years because feeding habits do not change rapidly. 
While the higher-producing cows consume the larger quantities 
of feed, particularly of grain, the difference is not so great when re- 
duced to a unit basis, as is indicated in the case of grain in Figure 2, 
showing the average annual production of each of the herds and the 
number of pounds of grain fed per 100 pounds of milk produced. 
The problem of feeds is presented in this detail to develop the 
method of calculating the feed equivalent of pasture, and to re- 
iterate the advantage of adequate feeding of cows. Within the 
limits observed on these farms and up to the point where cows begin 
to show marked evidence of putting on flesh, production seems to 
increase with the quantities of feed supplied, financially as well 
as physiologically. 
The prices used in figuring the cost of feed in 1920 were as fol- 
lows : 
Grain, $60 per ton : hay, $25 ; silage, $10 ; fodder, $15, and pasture 
$15 per cow for the season, with local variations. 2 At these rates the 
feed cost of milk was $2.02 per 100 pounds. These were the prices 
most commonly named, and they represent market values at the farm 
rather than actual cost. The actual cost of growing the crop is diffi- 
cult to work out from data ordinarily available. Moreover, the 
2 For the Marathon group (Group E) the price of grain was $75 a ton and of pasture 
$9 a head for the season. 
