Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1894-06-13
Wisconsin Dairy Interests,

| The Chicago Inter Ocean Is publish
ing a series of interesting articles on
the leading industries of our state,
and Saturdays issue contained
special correspondence from Fort At
kinson with the dairy interest, so par
amount in this section, as it's topic
The writer among other things says:
Wisconsin has over 100000 COWS
and they give $50, 100000 gallons of
milk in year, or 100000 gallons
every day. There are $500 cream
cries and cheese factories in the state,
and these, with the large private
dairy interests, represent 100000
voters deriving their support from
this industry. The capital invested
in lands, herds, creameries and cheese
| factories is variously estimated from
! $13O,00O,OOO to S15O,OOO,0OO
Each of the 100000 COWS earns SIS
year, making a total income of
$31 100000 a year from this bust
ness.
Each of these 100000 COWS, tax
ing an average, produces 1000
pounds of milk in a year. This is
about four times her own weight III
milk or her full weight in rich, yellow
creamery butter. She is, therefore,
worth her weight in butter every year
and gives 500 gallons, or enough milk
in year to drown herself
Governor Hoard began the agita-
ton ofdairy farming in the Fox river
valley in 1870. He organized the
| Dairymen's association in 1872,
pushed Jersey and dairy in the
schOolhouses, wrote about them il
The Jefferson County Union, of which
he was editor, and in 1885 establish
ed Hoard's Dairyman, which has be-
come the recognized authority on all
subjects relating to this business in
the Northwest.
The state has grown enormously in
! wealth since the dairy began to -four
, ish, and the banks at Sheboygan
carry 100000 on deposit for the
dairy interests of that section alone
The Jefferson county banks carry
more than $1,OOO,OOO, representing
the same interest, and Hoard's dair-
les handle over 100000 worth Of
milk annually There are eight of
these, and they handle but a small
part of the milk product of Jefferson
county.
Governor Hoard estimates that
the COWS OF Jefferson county last year
earned 81 ,25O, 900 for their owners.
This is one Of the best dairy counties,
| but there are others that yield a big
product. The dairy counties in Wis
consin are Door, Kewaunee, Mani
towoc, Washington, Sheboygan,
Ozaukee, Racine, Kenosha, Wal
| worth, Greene (the center of the Swiss
cheese industry in the west), Jeffer-
son, Waukesha, Dodge, Fond du Lac,
Calumet, Outagamie, Brown, Winnie
bago, Green Lake, Trempealeau, ST.
| Croix, La Crosse, Dane, Columbia,
Sank, Vernon, Crawford, Richland,
Lafayette, Iowa, Grant, Clark and
| Jackson.
The annual output of butter in
Wisconsin is over 5O,OOO,O OOpounds
and 35, 0OO,0 O0pound ofcheese. 1t is
estimated that about 60 per cent. of
| the milk crop is used for food, and
that leaves 40 per cent. to be used in
the manufacture OF butter and cheese.
/ w lSCOiISlIl IcJo lcthCu a. 1c6OQltS DO-
sition in dairy education. The state
has dairy school at the state uni
versity in building costing $4,000
and with a class of 100 which is
taught in all the practical problems
of butter making, cheese testing,
breeding Of dairy cattle, and, in fact,
| all questions connected with the
dairy interest.
Compared with any other agricuI-
tural interest the dairy is one that
pays biginterest on REIMBURSEMENT.
Not only does the COW furnish milk
and butter and cheese Tor the house
hold and the diaries, but there's also
the skim milk and the whey, which is
very important item in the feed of
young live stock and especially for
pigs.
But Governor Hoard places the
Jersey on higher pedestal than this
one of money making. She is not
simply q golden calf to be worshiped
for her value. She is a missionary Of
civilization and good farming. "The
moment a community establishes a
dairy" says the governor, ''large
barns and other improvements follow
and you will see a general tidying
up of farms, which shows that more
attention is paid to the fertility of
the soil. This last item IS a very i'm
portant one, and it's scope can be
seen in Jefferson county. Under the
Wasteful wheat culture incident to
early farming the fertility of Jefferson
county lands ran down to q produc-
ton of only eight bushels of wheat
per acre.
"'This loss ofrevenue brought great
distress to the farming interests and
as a consequence the farms of Jeffer-
son county were soon covered with
mortgages.
"Under thesnew gospel of dairying
there mas been a marvellous increase
in fertility of land so that the aver
age wheat yield is now nineteen
bushels per acre, or an increase of125
per cent All this has come through
the large increase of live stock and
the improvement Of the mind and in
taIliUpOcn of tho farmer him Golf -