River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1879-11-13
Improving Farm Dairy Stock.

discourage tue breeders OF DiOOuPu anu
pure bred stock of any or all varieties,
it has occurred 20 us that there is an OPP
portunity for enterprising and wide
awake farmers to be of benefit to their
neighbors, and at the same time put
money in their own purses. We were
very forcibly struck with the idea we
wish to encourage on seeing a drove of
dairy COWS offered for sale in one OF the
best dairy districts of Long Island last
Spring. These COWS had been brought
from the West-some from Michigan
and some from Ohio-at cost of an
average of IS per head for freight, be-
sides the expense of feed and care on
the way. There was good demand
for them land they were sold at what the
drover considered a fair margin of
profit, at prices ranging from $50 to $50
per head. The farmers who bought and
paid for these cattle seemed also to be
well satisfied, and the whole business
was done as if the fact that the farmers
had the opportunity TO buy cows at
those prices was favor. Now, there
is no doubt that all of those dairvmen
who bought these COWS had sold many
of their calves from cows that had been
proved to be first-class mixers for from
one to two dollars each, and thought
they had made good bargains.
This is not ar isolated case; it will be
found that this business of drovlng is
done in all dairy regions, and it is a
notorious fact that the drovers, as a
rule, make more money than the far
mers who buy the cows. Let us look
ir,to Ia ht1c II !, Ya
these cattle are obtained and how. The
drover goes into region remote from
the dairy centers, and gong about
among the small farmers, buys what
stock they have to sell, be it good, bad
or Indifferent, giving a lump price gen.
orally for one, two, or dozen head.
The small farmer, not making darylng
business, knows the capabilities of
each of his cows, and is not inclined to
sell the best of his herd, SO the drover
buys such as he can. This is not al
ways the case, as often the drover, in
buying, says, II must have this or that
one" and giving small advance. the
farmer sells, rather than loose the sale
of the other poorer ones. The result is
that the dairymen who add to their
herd COWS bought from the drovers do
not have high average In their supply
of milk, but must be content with COWS
giving probably an average of eight or
nine quarts per dav for the milking
season.
The wide-awake and thinking dairy
man, on the ether hand, raises from
three to ten calves from his best cows
every year, and his stock is getting
better, and his milk record is increas-
ing instead of going backward.
But many dairymen particularly
those who send milk to market, seem
to think they cannot raise calves to adj
vantage, and In many cases 1t may be
SO. But let some enterprising farmer
go into the business of raising every
year the calves from his best mixers
and buying from his neighbCrs their
calves of the same kind for the purpose
of selling them at one, two or three
years of age, and he will find the de-
mand more than he can supply, and
the dairyman will have better grade
of stock. The question of profit and
loss in this, as in all other farm opera
tons, is to be considered; and surely if
it will pay to raise and ship them
thousand miles with the profit that
must be made as a business venture it
will pay to raise them at hcme
Nearly every farmer has some one or
two COWS that are remarkable for their
yield of either milk or butter, and by
raising the calves of these dams, wheth-
er they be neifers or bulls these good
qualities will be perpetuated. 1t is by
this very means that our noted and
special breeds have been brought to
their present high position, and
it is only by this careful selection
of progeny that the good qualities are
maintained. We remember on the old
homestead there was a remarkable cow
known as "Od Iimeback," the best
mixer of the herd, and which suprem-
acy she maintained for period of
many years. Her progeny was like
her, and were numbered Limeback No.
l, No. 2, and so on, till in that one herd
there were at one time six other calves,
and all were noted as the best mixers.
1t may be of interest to know she be
longed to what at that time was known
as Durham-and this dairy bad rep
utation in the New York market that
made it no trouble 10 sell it for from
one to five cents above the market
price. But this practice has now
fallen into disuse, and the great ma
jority of dairy farmers of the east buy
their stock to replenish the worn out
and useless ones. We think there is an
opportunity for a profitable business in
this raising of common dairy stock, as
there is certain to be steady demand.
When the farmers of section know
they can buy this kind OF stock, even
at advanced prices over that from the
drovers, they will gladly avail them
selves of the opportunity. american
Dairynan.