52 BULLETIN 1271, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
in pasture a shorter time than the others. Since the extension of the 
pasture season beyond about 200 days involves the use of corn- 
stalk pastures, which are really of little value for milk production, 
it is to be expected that the long pasture season will decrease rather 
than increase milk production. On farms 6, 15, 17, and 21 the 
cows were fed some extra feed during the summer while on pasture. 
This was especially important, because the rainfall in May and June 
was much below normal in 1921, 11 and pastures were very short. On 
farm 15 the skill of the farmer in combining feeds and handling the 
herd was apparently an important factor in the high production. 
The higher production of the herds composed of cows of the gen- 
erally recognized dairy breeds is undoubtedly due to their inherited 
capacity for feed consumption and the fact that they utilize a rela- 
tively larger amount of the feed consumed for production and less 
for bodily maintenance. 
The herd on farm 15 was composed of individuals of excellent 
dairy type and breeding. Their individual productive capacity, 
coupled with the skillful feeding and handling on the part of the 
farmer, undoubtedly accounts in a large measure for their higher 
production in proportion to the feed received than the herds on 
farms 17 and 21. 
VETERINARY AND MEDICINE COSTS 
The item of cash expense for veterinary service and for medicine 
varies quite widely. Most of it is incurred for veterinary services. 
The high expense on farms 6 and 21 is due to the fact that all cows on 
these farms were tested for tuberculosis. 
STANDARD REQUIREMENTS FOR DAIRY CATTLE 
The following are suggested as standard requirements for a cow of 
dairy breeding producing 200 pounds of butterfat per year in a herd 
of at least 10 cows given the care and attention essential to successful 
dairying: 
Grain pounds. _ 1, 400 
Hay — alfalfa or clover do 2, 000 
Silage 12 do 6,000 
Pasture days- . 180 
Man labor hours. _ 1 50 
Horse labor do 10 
Cash costs (veterinary and medicine) cents. _ 35 
DISTRIBUTION OF LABOR ON DAIRY COWS 
Figure 15 shows the distribution of man labor by weeks on a dairy 
herd averaging eight cows for the year. The black portion of each 
bar represents the regular daily work on cows, such as milking, 
separating the milk, feeding, cleaning barn, and bedding. The 
habhured portions of the bars represent time spent marketing cream, 
ex1 1 a work on cows Mich us caring for a sick cow, and any work done 
only at irregular intervals. These cows were stabled everyday during 
cold weather. From the latter part of March until they went on 
pasture they were turned out in the yard during the day and stabled 
fig. 2,p.4 
•hi' 
additional p ain. 
). 4. 
Bilage \s aa available! an additional 2,000 pounds of hay would be required and possibly some 
n. 
