Class_2) & st See UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Contribution from the Bureau of Anim:z] Industry JOHN R. MOHLER, Chief Washington, D. C. Vv September 19, 1921 UNIT REQUIREMENTS FOR PRODUCING MARKET vy MILK IN EASTERN NEBRASKA. nh yy . Pe By J. B: Bary, Dairy Husbandman, G. E. Braun, Market Milk Specialist, Dairy Division, and Ii. A. GANNON, Cooperative Investigator, Nebraska Agricultural Experi- ment Station. CONTENTS. Page. | Page. Character and scope of the work..........-... 1 | Factors involved in the production of milk. - 9 Methods of obtaining data................-.. 2 Heed s pee seek oe eee Fee Ste 9 Influence of seasons on cost factors.....-. 2 IBASTULG bes teases ees Ta sacat ocieeetons oss 10 WescMpuOniOl herds 05. -2c1c-s0e--- sce cca. 3 ILE SCV = 3 see it eee 5 Rear aI ot Yasmine 10 Requirements for producing milk............ 3 Opnericos tS? 43-400 ce fase ac See ee 11 nec MOniCalvesin. 595 seis: <= seas 6 | Percentage comparison of factors involved in Creditor manure. 4. .<=0 52 <0 <-- 0005 $s 7 milk production.............. See =) agent ey 12 Requirements for keeping a bull............. 8 | Average compared with bulk-line costs... ..- 13 Monthly distribution of factors in milk pro- GWChHOMss—s = 5- Beles te Seen sa haeerns seem 15 MUIMMATY eee neLe tate seats: see ase eee 15 CHARACTER AND SCOPE OF THE WORK. How many pounds of grain, hay, and silage do dairymen feed to produce 100 pounds of milk in different sections of the United States ? How many hours of labor do they expend? What other costs are involved? In 1915 the Bureau of Animal Industry, United States Department of Agriculture, began a series of studies on groups of dairy farms in different sections of the United States'to obtain accu- rate information along these lines. The project with which this bulletin deals was organized near Omaha, Nebr., in cooperation with the department of dairy hus- bandry of the University of Nebraska. The study was begun in September, 1917, but was discontinued at the end of the first year because of the resignation of the field man who was conducting it.1 1C, H. Cook conducted the field work during the first year. Notr.—The work was carried on in eastern Nebraska in cooperation with the Department of Dairy Husbandry, University of Nebraska, and applies especially to milk shipped from that section to the Omaha market. 51550°—21 2 BULLETIN 972, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. In September, 1919, the work was resumed and records were obtained for the second year. Thus there was an interval of one year between the two years in which the studies were made. Although the figures obtained show what was required to produce milk for the Omaha market under the system of dairy management found in the section studied, and probably approximate the require- ments in similar sections, they, of course, do not apply to dairying in sections where different conditions and methods of management prevail. METHODS OF OBTAINING DATA. The figures reported are based on actual records obtained by regular monthly visits of 24 hours each to 8 farms for two entire years and to 22 other farms for one entire year. At the beginning and end of each year the field agent took an inventory of the dairy buildings, livestock, and equipment used in the care of the herd and its products. On his regular monthly visit at each farm the field agent, with watch in hand, noted and recorded the exact minute each labor operation on the dairy was begun and ended. An equally careful record was obtained of the kind, quantity, cost, and description of each feed fed. The quantity of milk sold and receipts each month were obtained. In addition the milk used by the proprietor and his help or fed to calves was measured or weighed on the monthly visit and used as a basis for determining the quantity kept on the farm during the month. The dairymen kept itemized accounts of expenses incurred between monthly visits and reported these items to the field agent. Monthly records were kept of the purchase or sale of cows, calves, hides, the cost of outside bull service, and other miscellaneous information. Accurate records of calves born and first-hand information on the condition and methods of handling manure were collected system- atically. . The records of all the herds for each month made it possible to obtain representative data for each month, season, and year. Rec- ords were obtained the second year as a check on the first year’s work and to increase the quantity of data for study. INFLUENCE OF SEASONS ON COST FACTORS. The results have been reported separately for the winter and summer seasons because the season of the year may have a marked influence on the principal factors of cost. The months from Novem- ber to April, inclusive, are considered as the winter season and the months from May to October, inclusive, as the summer season. The various tables are based upon figures obtained during the two-year study, and the weighted averages of these records were P LIBRARY OF CONGRESS | RECRNED SEP 231921 | DOCUMENTS DIVISION ee a a a Nz B23 PRODUCING MARKET MILK IN EASTERN NEBRASKA. 3 used wherever they would express the results more accurately. The weighted average was obtained by weighting each item according to its relative importance. DESCRIPTION OF HERDS. During the first year records were obtained on 21 herds contain- ing a total of 268.2 cows, with an average yearly production of 5,806 pounds of milk testing 3.6 per cent butterfat. The second year’s study included 226.5 cows in 17 herds, with an average yearly production of 5,843 pounds of milk and an average butterfat test of 3.7 per cent. Though most of the herds consisted of grade Holstein cows, there were a number of herds in which the Jersey and Guernsey breeds were well represented. The size of the herd was determined by the number of cows in the herd for 12 “‘cow-months.”’ Cow- month is a term used to express the record of a cow in the herd for one month. During the first winter, 43.6 calves were dropped for each 100 cows in the herds, and in summer the ratio was 42.5 calves. During the second winter 58.7 calves were born for each 100 cows kept, and in the second summer 44.2 calves were born. The total of 102.9 calves for each 100 cows for the year may appear excessive, but it is due to the fact that out of the 276 cows in the herd sometime during the year 49 were heifers that entered the herd when they freshened. Though in some cases these cows were in the herd only a few months, the herd was credited with their calves. Thus the herd received credit for the whole calf, whereas the dam was in the herd only a part of the year and was counted only as a proportionate fraction of 1. In this way the percentage of calves was materially affected. Com- bining the results for the two years, we have a total of 494.7 cows giving birth to 463 calves; or for every 100 cows there were 93.6 calves, 43 of these coming in the summer season and 50.6 in the winter season. REQUIREMENTS FOR PRODUCING MILK. The feed requirements are expressed in pounds, and labor in hours, in order to eliminate the effect of fluctuating prices. This method of presenting the facts makes it possible to use the figures for some time to come. During the war many of the farmers in this section concentrated their efforts on raising grain, which forced dairying to occupy a second- ary place. The high price of concentrates caused the dairymen to feed less grain, with the result that the production of the cows was less than it would have been under heavier feeding. This fact is brought out by the record of a cow named “ Prohibi- tion.”” This cow was so named because she was always dry; at 4 BULLETIN 972, U. 8. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. least 1t appeared that way to her owner, since she would give milk for only five or six months and then go dry until the next freshening. When her owner found out from the first year’s records that she had been dry for six months and had produced only 3,351 pounds of milk during the year, he decided that she should go to the stock- yards at Omaha when she went dry again. So, as soon as the cow freshened, the owner began to feed her a little grain to keep her in condition so that it would not take so long to fatten her for beef after she went dry. But Prohibition did not go dry. With that extra grain she kept milking month after month, and at the end of the year she had 7,043 pounds of milk to her credit. The owner did not sell her, but he did change her name. Fig. 1.—A barn typical of those on the farms studied. A study of the original figures shows that grain was not fed so economically as it could have been. During the first winter one herd received only 3.8 pounds of grain for each 100 pounds of milk pro- duced, while another herd received 82.5 pounds. Such a wide range in the quantity of concentrates fed was probably due to the fact that the dairy business is relatively new in this section and the most economical methods have not yet been generally adopted by the dairymen. Some dairymen in this section, however, are already following profitable methods of feeding and are giving their herds better care and improving them by breeding and selection. There was also a wide variation between the two winters and between the two summers in the quantity of grain and roughage fed. The wide PRODUCING MARKET MILK IN EASTERN NEBRASKA. 5 difference was accentuated by the fact that an entire year intervenes between the two years during which the records were taken. The amount of human and horse labor was less than it would have been had the dairymen hauled their own milk. For the most part motor trucks were used to collect the milk and haul it to the Omaha market. The charge for this hauling appears in Tables 1 and 2 under the item “Cash hauling of milk.’”’? The item ‘“ Motor-truck charge”’ was payment for the service of a motor truck owned by a dairyman who hauled his own milk. The cost of keeping a bull is expressed in dollars in Tables 1 and 2. In Table 5 the requirements for keeping a bull for one year are stated in units so that current prices for feed and labor may be applied. The comparative size and importance of the various cash charges are shown in the lower section of Tables 1 and 2. For convenience the requirements for producing 100 pounds of milk and also for keep- ing a cow one year are tabulated separately. TABLE 1.— Units required, except charge for management, for producing 100 pounds of milk in wenter and in summer. Winter. Summer. Summa- | Summa- Item. cha en oN CLUNNO ry of two 1917-18 | 1919-20 | Wimters-| 91g 1929 © | Summers. Feed: Purchased concentrates. ..... pounds. . 7.0 0.9 4.4 1.4 0.9 1m Home-grown grains. .....-....-- do 37.9 35. 4 36. 8 9.1 10.7 9.8 Wotaliconcentrates: - - en na 01 . 36 .3f Cash hauling’ ofmilke 2235 ho eee ie tend 2h 2 Pe pean ea De 5. 31 6. 06 11. 37 Total other costs except depreciation on cows....................... 23. 11 23. 24 46. 35 Deprectation) On GOwSsssa5 ese eee ne 2. 38 2. 40 4.78 Total.othericostss so. ee: tees je seek oe ee ee ee aN CNN 25. 49 25. 64 51.13 CREDIT FOR CALVES. The large credit of 1.02 calves per cow during the second year, as shown in Table 3, was due to many cows entering the herd at freshen- ing time and remaining only a fractional part of the year. The effect of war prices is reflected in the larger average value of calves during the second year. TABLE 3.—Total credit for calves produced, by years and by seasons. Credit by years. Credit by seasons. Item. 1917-18 1919-20 Both winters. | Both summers. Numiberioficalimess = 22s sass -= ose eee | 231 232 250 213 Total value of calves. ..... ojo). = Scai 3. 43 9. 2 8.2 12. 2 10.0 2.0 9.5 .09 . 43 IE) Ce) 0) 2 ae ee 3. 36 9.6 8.8 10.0 7.8 1.8 9.5 - 06 3 SAO) rl Lae ete 3.15 9.1 8.8 8.5 6.3 1.5 7.8 08 -39 Vila its) eee 3. 47 - 53.6 47, 2 63.3 50. 0 1.9 8.9 10 . 49 Year 3. 06 100. 0 100. 0 100. 0 85. 5 1.75 8. 45 - 065 32 The third column of Table 11 shows the percentage of the yearly income from milk which was obtained each month. The percentage of the yearly quantity of milk produced each month is found in the fourth column. The fifth column shows the monthly feed, pasture, and bedding cost to produce milk, and the sixth shows the same costs after the credit for manure and bedding has been deducted. The remaining columns show the amounts of labor expended for producing 100 pounds of milk, and also for keeping a cow. SUMMARY. The requirements for producing 100 pounds of milk were obtained from records covering two one-year periods with an interval of one year between them. During the winter six months these require- ments were: Concentrates, 41.2 pounds; hauling and grinding con- centrates, $0.016; dry roughage, 95.3 pounds; silage and other 16 BULLETIN 972, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. succulent roughage, 93.6 pounds; pasture, $0.108; bedding, 11.1 pounds; human labor, 2 hours; horse labor, 0.06 hour; total other costs except depreciation on cows, $0.788; depreciation on cows, $0.081. During the summer six months there were required: Con- centrates, 11 pounds; hauling and grinding concentrates, $0.004; dry roughage, 51.2 pounds; silage and other succulent roughage, 29.3 pounds; pasture, $0.653; bedding, 0.5 pound; human labor, 1.9 hours; horse labor, 0.08 hour; total other costs except deprecia- tion on cows, $0.805; depreciation on cows, $0.084. (Table 1.) The requirements for keeping a cow one year were: Concentrates, 1,529 pounds; hauling and grinding concentrates, $0.60; dry rough- age, 4,275 pounds; silage and other succulent roughage, 3,593 pounds; pasture, $22.01; bedding, 340 pounds; human labor, 113.6 hours; horse labor, 3.2 hours; total other costs except depreciation on cows, $46.35; depreciation on cows $4.78. (Table 2.) There was a credit, per year, of 0.93 of 1 calf for each cow, which amounted to 0.03 of 1 calf for each 100 pounds of milk produced. (Table 3.) The credit for manure per cow per year amounted to 7,749 pounds, and for 100 pounds of milk it amounted to 264 pounds. (Table 4.) It was estimated that a ton of this manure contained 9.5 pounds of nitrogen, 2.9 pounds of phosphoric acid, and 9.8 pounds of potash. (Page 8.) In the winter season 54.3 per cent of the work was performed by the manager, 26.4 per cent by the hired men, 12.9 per cent by women, and 6.4 per cent by boys and girls, During the summer 51.1 per cent was performed by the manager, 21.1 per cent by hired men, 16.8 per cent by women, and 11 per cent by boys and girls. (Table 6.) The building costs for the year were 13.8 per cent of the capital invested in them, the equipment costs were 22.9 per cent of the capital invested in equipment, and herd charges were 10.4 per cent of the capi- tal invested in the herd. The combined cost of buildings, equipment, and herd was 12.6 per cent of the total capital invested in them. (Table 8.) Fifty-six per cent of the cost of milk was due to feed, bedding, and pasture, 16.8 per cent to labor, 2.6 per cent to depreciation on cows, and 24.6 per cent to other-costs. There was a credit of 6.2 per cent for calves and 7.4 per cent for manure. (Table 9.) . . The average incomes from milk during the first winter and summer were not sufficient to meet the average costs during those seasons. In the second year the incomes were above the average costs in both seasons. (Table 10.) The greater percentage of the year’s income was received in the winter, but the feed, pasture, and bedding costs were heavier at this time and exceeded the summer costs by a greater percentage than the winter receipts exceeded the summer receipts. (Table 11.) WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1921 | | | ii) | t Mn uN I | tl ll ll