Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1871-03-24
Farming BY a Farmer.

Gin the last Courier l was talking
about a farm of eighty acres, fifty
of which were under the pillow; and
had assumed that the owner of it,
instead of buying reaper and
seeder, at an expense Of two hun
dred and eighty dollars, had pa
chased eight COWS, at cost of
two hundred and forty dollars. l
had advised such farmer to seed
down, in timothy, one-third of the
land he had under the pillow, plant
fifteen acres of corn, SOW five acres
to wheat, five to oats, three to bar
ley or buckwheat, three to corn
sown broadcast-one to peas, and
plant one to potatoes.
The question of the protitableness
of such 4 farm, so organized, was
reserved for consideration in this
paper.
| begin with the cows.
| have taken considerable pains
to ascertain what is the average
yield of butter per COW i'll this coun-
try. 1t is not an easy question to
answer. Very few of our farmers
keep accounts. In all families a
considerable portion of the dairy
product is required for home CON
sumption. The part sold is carried
to market, u pailful at a time, and
its value brought back in family
supplies. Anything like perfect ac-
curacy is, therefore, unattainabie.
But from my observation and in
quries, | am satisfied that the pro
duct Of butter, per COW, does not
vary much from one hundred
pounds.
/ do not believe l shall provoke
criticism, or dissent, if | declare
that it is perfectly easy to double
that amount.
If our COWS leave the shelter, pro
lection, and care of our stables and
sheds in prime order; if they do
not have to waste half the summer
in recuperation from the starving
they have undergone during the
winter; if they have couple O.
quarts of meal each at night during
all the month of May; if they have
timothy pastures and corn stalks
from the middle of August till the
snow flies; if they are stable |, bed
ed, and carded, fed, and watered,
during the winter; in short, if they
are we'll wintered and well sum-
mercd, | do not believe any sensible
man doubts that their butter-making
capacity would be doubled. AS a
matter of fact, in Eastern dairies,
where cows are so cared for, two
hundred pounds of butter, per COW,
is less than the average yield.) But
| desire to be moderate, and keep
all these estimates within the mark,
| nd so will assume that under this
management, the butter product per
COW shall'he one hundred and sew
enty-tive pounds; and our eight cows
will give us fourteen hundred
pounds Of butter. Reserve two
| hundred pounds of this for family
use and we have twelve hundred
pounds for sale. During the years
| have lived in Iowa, butter has
sometimes sold for thirty-fve cents
per pound At the minimum figures
we have
200 lbs. butter "a 20 cts ........ $4,000
OF course our COWS have each
raised II calf, worth atone year odd,
under the system of keeping which
we are supposing to have been in
augurated, fifteen dollars apiece;
but to keep all estimates low, they
shall be valued at twelve dollars.
s calves % *12. $4,000
The productiveness Of the cows
under consideration is not yet ex-
hausted; for the milk, after wean-
ing Of the calves, is fed to hogs; but
the return for this will appear in the
sale of the pork.
With a reasonably good breed of
hogs, and under a judicious system
of feeding, they ought, at one year
old, to weigh three hundred pounds
each. Reserve two of these for
family use, and the remaining six
will furnish eighteen hundred
pounds OF pork for the market.
Since the close of the war pork has
vibrated between six and fifteen
cents per pound. Take the lowest
figure, and as product We have:
1900 lbs pork q cts. .slo8.00
Or course one or two of the sows
have been permitted to raise pigs,
to keep good the stock; but, as these
are to be kept for another year, they
shall be excluded from the products
Of the farm in this estimate.
TO recapitulate:
1900 lbs butter q 20 cts. $4,000
s calves 20 $l2. 5000
1900 lbs pork q cts ....... 10S.00
About every farm house there
should be flock Of chickens
and turkeys; and these, besides be-
ing never failing luxury to the
farmers family, should furnish for
the market from thirty to fifty dol
lars worth of products.
Besides furnishing an ample sup
ply Of food for the family, but little
short Of five hundred dollars will
thus have been realized from farm
of eighty acres, cultivated, harvest
ed, and marketed, exclusively by