FARMERS' EARNINGS IN SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA 
29 
FEED COST OF MILK 
The index of dairy efficiency is just as much dependent upon the 
economy with which the milk is produced as it is upon the price for 
winch the milk sells. Feed is the most important element of cost. 
As shown in Table 25, very few farms with feed costs above $1.25 
per 100 pounds of milk had dairy indexes higher than SI 00. The 
average feed cost for farms with the lower indexes was SI. 50 per 
hundredweight and higher, while several groups of more efficient 
dairies had average feed costs of less than SI per hundredweight. 
The feed cost was based upon 'the cost of feed purchased and the 
value at the farm of feed raised. No charge was included for pas- 
turage, as no satisfactory basis was found for measuring the value of 
the feed furnished the cows by the pastures. In the following tables 
the feed cost is somewhat too low in every case, because no charge for 
pasture is included. 
Table 25. 
■Farms producing grade B milk classified by dairy index and feed cost 
per hundredweight of milk 
Number of 
farms with specified value of feed 
1 consumed per 
hundredweight of milk produced in dollars 
Dairy index in dollars 
a 
o 
lO 
8 
8 
8 
CM 
o 
«3 
o 
o 
o 
© 
o 
o 
r— 
T-t 
r-i 
r-l 
<N 
<N 
<N 
<N 
CO 
CO 
CO 
CO 
C3 O 
U 
o 
o 
o 
o 
a 
O 
o 
o 
C 
O 
o 
o 
o 
o 
— 
T3 
o 
5 
S 
i 
CI 
o 
g 
o 
o 
lO 
o 
CD ° 
> 
u» 
o 
o 
o 
- 
rt 
- 1 
<-< 
<N 
<N 
<M 
CN 
CO 
CO 
CO 
< 
Dolls. 
-25 toO 
1 
8 
9 
1 
"¥ 
.... 
2 
1 
1 
1 
1 
2 
22 
55 
85 
80 
50 
18 
5 
2.12 
to 25 
i 
9 
35 
1 
18 
29 
24 
1 
2 
1 
7 
18 
11 
3 
.... 
1 
1 
1.91 
25 to 50 
1.52 
50 to 75 . 
6 
1 
1.32 
75 to 100-- 
1 
.... 
4 
6 
2 
1 
18 28 
1. 15 
100 to 125 
22 
11 
1 
20 
2 
2 
1 
.99 
125 to 150 
1 
.97 
150 to 175 
1.02 
175 to 200.. 
200 to 225 
1 
1 
.87 
Total... 
1 
.... 
13 
59 
97 
76 
40 
19 
5 
4 
— " 
2 
2 
318 
1.28 
i Exclusive of pasturage. 
Individual cows differ both in the quantity of feed which they can 
consume, and in the efficiency with which they transform the feed 
into milk. If two cows are fed just the same quantity of feed, the 
one producing the most milk necessarily produces at the lowest unit 
cost. 
However, many farmers in the area studied were not feeding their 
cows the right kind of feed or the proper quantity per cow for the 
most efficient production. As shown by definite statistical measure- 
ment, in this area the way the cows were fed and handled was equally 
important with the capacity or efficiency of the cows as a cause of 
variation in the feed cost of milk production. It is common knowl- 
edge that if each cow is fed just the right combination and quantity 
of feed for her individual ability, according to approved feeding stand- 
ards, she will produce at the lowest feed cost of which she is capable; 
if she is fed either too much or too little, or is fed the wrong mixture, 
her production will be less efficient. 
