COST OF PRODUCING HOGS IN IOWA AND ILLINOIS a1 
cent of the total number, and their cost or estimated value was 5.1 
per cent of the value of all the breeding herds combined. In 1922 
the loss was much smaller as only 2.8 per cent died and had a value 
of 2.9 per cent of the combined value of all the breeding herds. 
The losses in the breeding herd are generally due to two funda- 
mental causes: (1) Failure to protect the herd against epidemic 
diseases by vaccination or sanitation, and (2) miscellaneous errors in 
care and management. These losses do not appear excessive as a 
whole, but the hog business on some of the farms was almost a 
complete failure as a result of these losses. 
TaBLe 19.—Relative importance of various items included in the veterinary charge 
| Percentage of total 
veterinary cost 
Item 
| 1921 | 1922 
ELD ETT 2c eel ae Bw it ate ee SS eee ee ee Lee ne ee ae 84.8 | 85.3 
ST es 5 BS Ee fp Se BEA Rae Big ot ee ee a ee 2 ae ee ae Ee ee 6.7 | 6.1 
_ LSS TT US EEL eT i ie er 5 a A PE ee eee Sees Sees ee 21 4.4 
JOST 2 i ee EE Se ee Se ee, 4.1 } 3.2 
0 ES SRR EA FES I RT eae Se oor Tae ce en aeek POLY TE 2.3 | 1.0 
meeemenneet pera at WE) Pails bis GO 7 ie, OLN 100. 0 | 100. 0 
TaBLe 20.—Causes of losses in the breeding herd ' 
: 
| 1921 | 1922, | | 1921 | 1922 
Cause of loss a ar RTS Cause of loss 
Sows Sows | Sows | Sows 
| 
j | 
Sows in opening inventory________ 865 Tit (MO Be a ee ee 5 fy ie Bae 
7S Biss) be 2 See 6 5:}t Necrebacillosis....-=_ 227 AD {25s 
Warrominip fe ee 3 4 || Overfeed of mineral_______________ Lies 
811 ba ee eee ny Cretan fait tips a AealS, pee ae iS 
Broken. @ownl, 2: <2 3«! 2 -a.,-= 1 % i) Onimown) 2.55 i 6 | 7 
CoWSGsEEE ee p.| aia aes COS aS Neen el ge es ee 1 
ji, Soe ae G6 7 ee eee 1 4 
_ eb Fi Mra a a FS 1 lL Saat RAL Pree eee } 6 42 24 
CL aE Beet 21 ie eee Pe Zl EL GICOnsaAre Nish. ee 4.8 | 2.8 
12 ES ee ee eee ee 1 || Average weight, pounds__________ 294 314 
VULAST ¢) 11 bel wearers Ppepens 1 5 $24. 30 
| Average value before loss_________ | $23. 55 
1 In 1921 four boars were lost: One died from necrobacillosis, one was stolen, and the causes for the deaths 
of two were not Known. No boars were lost in 1922. The average weight of the boars lost in 1921 was 
391 pounds and their value before loss 48.75. There were 56 boars inventoried in 1921 and 47 boars inven- 
toried in 1922. 
In every business there are items of expense which are incurred for 
the good of several products or the business as a whole, and can not 
be charged to any one particular product. These items of expense 
are generally grouped together as overhead expense and dinteiikad 
to the various products on some basis. The basis of charging over- 
head in this study is 3 per cent of all the costs excluding interest. 
The examination of overhead and hog-expense accounts in several 
States seemed to indicate that 3 per cent was about the relation of 
these overhead expense items to the operating cost of the hog enter- 
rise. ical items found in these overhead expense accounts are 
arm and breeding association dues, labor of cutting weeds on fence 
rows and dragging roads, interest and taxes on farmstead and any 
waste land, telephone, nails, and farm papers. 
